A COLLECTION OF CERTAIN Epistles & Testimonies Of Divine Consolation, Experience and Doctrine, Written by that Faithful, Patiented and Long-Suffering Servant of Christ, William Bennit. Who Finished his Testimony the 23d day of the 4th Month 1684. In the County Goal at Ipswich in Suffolk. And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Writ, Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth, yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their Labours, and their Works do follow them. LONDON, Printed and Sold by Andrew Sowle at the Crooked-Billet in Holloway-Lane, near Shoreditch, 1685. THE CONTENTS TO my dear Father and Mother, pag. 25. A Tender and Unfeigned Salutation of Love and to Professors: Or a tender Invitation and Call unto all People, in whose Hearts there hath been, and still is, some true desiring, and breathing after the Lord God; who hath long been hunting abroad amongst the many Forms and Liknesses, and have been running from one broken Cistern to another, and have been long spending their Money for that which is not Bread, and their Labour for that which hath not rightly satisfied their Souls: For them to retire inward unto that in their own Hearts, which is the Author of the desiring in them after God, even the pure spiritual Light of Christ Jesus in their own Consciences, which will lead and bring them (that do it follow and obey) unto the wellspring of Life, the fountain of living Water, (where they may drink abundantly, and be satisfied) unto the fold of everlasting Rest, unto the fresh pastures of Life, where they may feed and lie down, and enjoy true rest and satisfaction for their Souls, pag. 33. For Friends of Truth in the Town of Yarmouth, pag. 59 God only Exalted in his own Work; or, the Works of God Praiseth him in Zion. Or, a Song of Deliverance from a great and sore Captivity, Thraldom and Bondage, under the King of Egyptian Darkness, the God of the World, where the Soul was fast bound, as with strong Chains and Fetters; but now Ransomed (by the outstretched Arm of God's Almighty Power) and art come to Zion with Songs of everlasting Joy upon thy Head, and hast obtained Joy and Gladness, and thy Sighing and Mourning is fled away, pag. 63. To God's Lambs in Prison Greeting, pag. 75. To Friends in the Love of Truth Greeting pag. 77. To Friends of Truth, pag. 78. To Friends of Truth in Prison, pag. 79. To the Suffering Lambs of the Lords Flock in Prison Greeting, pag. 81. This to go among Friends of Truth, to be read among them when assembled together in the pure fear and dread of the most high God, pag. 84. To Friends, pag. 90. To the Magistrates of Edmondsbury pag. 92. To Friends of Truth in the Town of Colchester, Greeting, pag. 100 Som● Prison Meditations of an humble Heart, pag. 108. This to go among Friends, to be read among them when assembled together in the pure Fear and Wisdom of God, pag. 142. A Testimony to the true Light that lightens every man that comes into the World, pag. 150. To Friends in Edmondsbury Goal, pag. 157. To Friends Sufferers in Norwich-Castle, pag. 158. To Friends, Brethren and Sisters, etc. pag. 161. The Work and Mercy of God conducing to his Praise; Or a Demonstration of the Visitation of God's Love to my Soul in the days of my Youth; Being a Testimony of the Light of Christ in the Conscience which discovereth and judgeth Sin; also (if loved and obeyed) saveth from Sin and redeemeth the Soul unto God, pag. 167. To those that are young in Years, etc. pag. 179. To all People that live and delight in Wickedness, pag. 181. To those that are seeking the Living God in the Dead Forms, pag. 191. To those that are backslided from the Truth, pag. 194. To those that profess the Truth, yet walk contrary thereto i● Life and Conversation, pag. 197. To all those that are convinced of the Truth, but still remain in the World's ways, pag. 198. To those that are newly convinced of the Truth▪ pag. 200. To the true Mourners in Zion, pag. 203. A General Salutation of Love to the Children of Light, pag. 207. To Friends, pag. 211. A Loving Exhortation and Warning to Seamen, and all others whom it doth concern, pag. 214. Edmond Cross HIS TESTIMONY For his Deceased Friend William Bennit. THis Testimony lives in my Heart, and is upon me to bear for and concerning my dear and well beloved Friend William Bennit, whom, with many more worthy Ones, God Almighty, in his endless Love unto mankind, raised up and endued with power from on high, to preach the Everlasting Gospel of Life and Salvation in our Age; and forever blessed be the Lord who hath caused his blessed Work to prosper by them, to the gathering many Thousands to himself, notwithstanding the great opposition they have meet with, both from the Enemy of mankind within, and the Exercises, Hardships and cruel Persecutions from his Instruments without; yet so powerfully did the Lord appear in them, that the Inhabitants of the Earth was awakened, and Trembling took hold of many, Judgement was laid to the Li●e, and Righteousness to the Plummet; yea, the sound of the Gospel, by these worthy Messengers Preached, went through the Earth, and many of its Inhabitant thereby came to learn Righteousness; amongst which worthy Messengers this my dear Friend William Bennit was one, who laboured in the service of the Gospel for the gathering in the outcasts of Jacob, and the dispersed of Israel. He was a man wholly given up both in Body and Mind to serve the Lord, and what he did for God, he did it with all his Might; he spared no pains wherein he might serve the Truth, which to do was his whole delight, his care was great over the Church of Christ and whole Family of God, and when in Bonds for the Gospel sake, he visited them with divers good Epistler, full of heavenly Exhortations and Comfort, to the great refreshment of God's Children; oh, the sense of the want of him doth often make me sad, knowing how serviceable he was in the Church, though I doubt not but the Lord can raise up some worthy Ones to succeed him in the Work and Service whereunto he was called; oh, the many sweet refreshments which I have had with him cannot be forgotten, what shall I say for the want of him whose presence hath often times been very comfortable to me? I believe years to come will know the want of him. I had inward acquaintance with him above many, and can testify he was endued with many divine Attainments, he had the true qualifications of an Elder and Minister of Christ, and walked in Holiness, Meekness and Godly Fear towards all men, he never exalted himself above any, but as a perfect example in Humility, Self-Denial and Meekness he behaved himself towards the Meanest; his Zeal for the Truth appeared to be very great, for though he was a very weak man, as to his bodily strength, yet in preaching the Gospel he was carried forth with such Fervency and Zeal for the Lord, being by the mighty Power of God upheld, that at such times there appeared no Infirmness of Body in him, and notwithstanding the weakness of his Body, he often Traveled in the service of the Gospel, being freely given up to spend, and to be spent for its sake; his Ministry was plain & prevalent, whereof he had a very good Gift, he was well acquainted with the holy Scriptures of Truth, which he made much use of for the opening the Understandings of People, which often proved very Effectual for the convincing of many. And as he was an incessant Labourer in the Gospel wherever he came, so also, was he as Valiant in suffering for the same, when ever called thereunto, as the many grievous Imprisonments, which he hath met with for the Gospel's sake doth witness, for he hath, for his Testimonies sake, been cast into divers Goals, as Yarmouth, Bliborough, Ipswich: and Melton several times, & also at Edmondsbury, where he lay amongst the Felons nigh eight years together; & lastly, he was taken from a Meeting at Woodbridge, and committed to Melton Prison, where he lay till the quarter Sessions held at Woodbridg, unto which he was brought, and was by an order of Sessions removed from thence to Ipswich Prison, being then in the Winter season, & though he was very weak at that time and not fit to be carried forth, the Wether being very cold, and at that time it Snowed very much, yet was he in the midst of all hurried away; I was then with him, and with grief of Heart beheld this cruel Treatment, of this innocent Lamb, who then said, If it lay in his freedom to go or not, although he might gain much as to the outward, he could not go his weakness was such, yet for the Truth's sake he was freely given up, though it proved the dissolution of his Body; as indeed it so happened, for he never got over it, but grew weaker, and weaker, till upon the 23 d day of the 4th month 1684, in the Prison House in Ipswich, the place of his Confinement, he finished his Testimony, and laid down his Head in perfect Peace; thus was this good man Persecuted unto Death, who freely forgave them that Persecuted him; and oh, saith my Soul, if it may stand with the will of God, that they may find Repentance before they go hence, that his Blood may not be required at their hands. Well, he is now gone beyond the reach of all his Enemies, he hath run the blessed Race, he has fought the good Fight, hath kept the Faith, and is now Crowned with that Eternal weight of Glory which never endeth; and though he be removed from us, yet his Life remains with us, and his Name is a sweet memorial unto us; yea, he shall be reckoned amongst the Generations of the Righteous, and time shall never blot him out of their Remembrance, who served the Lord withal his Heart, and loved not his Life unto Death for his Name sake. Oh, the remembrance of this my dear Friend hath often times been a refreshment to me, and the many sweet and precious oppertunities I have had with him are at this time fresh in my remembrance; I cannot forget those heavenly bedewings, and sweet streams of divine Life, from the God of Life, who is the Fountain of all our well-springs, which often times ran through his Vessel, as through a Conduit Pipe, to the great refreshment of his Children. Oh, when I consider his service in the Church of Christ, and how ready he was to help the Weak, and encourage the Feeble; yea, to reach forth his helping hand unto all, that none might be left behind, and that now at such a time as this, wherein Trials and Exercises seem to abound upon us, it should please the Lord to removed him from us; my Spirit is bowed before the Lord in the consideration thereof, & for a ti●e my Soul was afflicted within me, being deeply sensible of the great loss of him at this time of day. But while I was Meditating in the consideration hereof, my Soul was revived in the feeling of the Springs of Life to arise, which sprang up in this wise, God is the same that ever he was, his Arm is not shortened that it cannot Save, neither is his Ear heavy that it cannot hear the cries of his Children; but his care is, and will be, over all those that put their trust in him, and against such no Weapon howsoever form shall Prosper, and that he hath not removed his Servant from us thereby to weaken us, but rather that we should wholly look unto him only, from whom alone our Salvation comes; who will certainly take care of all those who are faithful unto him in their Testimony for his Name, and will supply such with whatsoever he sees is needful for them; yea, the same Power that kept and preserved this our dear Friend through all his Trials and Exercises, who hath now finished his Course with Joy, will also preserve us, as we are faithful thereunto; in which the Lord keep and preserve all his People, through all their Trials and Exercises, to the end, is the breathing of my Soul. OH thou my dear Friend who art now from us gone, Unto thine everlasting Rest in the Eternal one, Who now for all thy Labours in which thou didst abound, Rewarded art with endless Life, and art with Glory Crowned; Oh worthy man of God, thy Name for ever shall, Recorded be amongst the righteous Gen'rations all, Thou lovedst not thy Life to Death, but gave up all unto The service of God▪ s Truth most pure, and for it didst forg● The World and all things else that unto thee was near, That thou mightst be for evermore with thy Redeemer dear; And though thy Body is gone, and Flesh consumed be, Thy Spirit with thy God doth live to all Eternity; Where from thine Eyes all Tears are wiped, and Joy for e●e is found, And Clothed now art with Garments pure, and Pleasures doth abound; And from thine Enemy's reach, which did thee sore annoyed, Who for the sake of Truth they sought thy Body to destroy; Thou now exalted art over all Mortality, Where neither ravenous Beast, nor yet the voulterus Eye, 〈◊〉 ever thee molest, no nor disquiet thy peace, Which as a River great doth flow, and never more shall cease; Ah thou Valiant, one indeed, who never turned aside, But to thy God wert faithful found, when ever thou wert tried, Great is our went of thee, for which my Soul doth cry, ●nto the Lord our God who only can supply; Oh righteous God make up our loss, to thee I only pray, That thou wouldst please to raise up Children to him this day, And fill them with thy Grace, and therein make them shine Forth in thy most glorious Power, both heavenly and divine, That so thy holy Truth for which he did engage, May over all exalted be now in this latter age; And though our loss of him be great, who still do here abide, Yet in our God we are complete while we in Truth reside; In which the living God preserve, and from the World defend All those that put their trust in him, and keep them to the end, That in the closure of our Da●s our Heads in peace may lie, And fill▪ d our Mouths may be with Prayers unto the Lord on high, Who over all is worth, and only praised be he That never waxeth old, nor ever Changed can be. Walton the 30th of the 8th Month 1684 Edmond Cross. Six Verses writ by another Hand. WAs ever Dust more Dignified while 'twas a House of Clay, For heavenly Life did there abide its Virtue to display. An Humble, Meek and Harmless Soul, within this Dust did dwell, Which all the Glory of this World abundance did excel. This Dust on Earth it had a Name whilst it on Earth did move, But that same Life which moved the same theirs few do know or Love. The Dust is left, the Soul is gone in Life for ay to dwell, From sight of every mortal one, in Glory to excel. Thy Dust within the Earth do lie, my Dust shall lie by thine, Our Souls in Life shall dwell on high, our Fellowship divine. And though by Death we leave our Dust, our Souls remain forever, And from the Spirits of the Just no worldly Power can sever. William Pert HIS TESTIMONY CONCERNING William Bennit. Reader, MAny has been the faithful Witnesses which God hath raised in his day (blessed be his holy Name) that hath been truly honoured with his Power and living Presence, in which they have gone forth in his Work and Service, in order to the gathering in of his numberless Number, which he is a gathering from the ends of the Earth, to Inhabit in his new Jerusalem, that heavenly City come down from God, the City of the Saints Solemnity, where the living Praises are continually Sung to the God of Zion, the King of Saints, to whom be ascribed all Honour and living Praises, as is due saith my Soul, forever, Amen. Now Friends, many of these Ambassadors and Agents for the King of Heaven, it hath pleased his heavenly Majesty to end their Commission, by calling them home, to that place of rest prepared for the Faithful (where the oppression of the Oppressor ceaseth, and not so much as his voice heard, himself being forever shut out) the Memorial of them is blessed, their Names will be honourable in Ages yet to come, and the Children yet unborn will bless the Lord on their behalves; much might be writ in a general way, as to those worthy Witnesses before mentioned; but that which is before, and chief at this time upon me, is to leave a Testimony to Posterity (that lives in my Heart) concerning that faithful Servant of God, and of his People, and worthy Minister of Christ Jesus, dear William Bennit, a man indeed of a meek Moses like Spirit, in whom the Lord had in a large measure fulfilled his Promise (viz.) to make a man more pure than fine Gold, yea then the golden Wedg of O●●er; for indeed the Lord had tried him in the Furnice of Affliction, and had in a large measure purified him from the Oar or earthly mixture, and made him a chosen Vessel, fit for his own use, for saith Solomon. When the Silver is refined from the Dr●ss, there is a Vessel for the Refiner, as this good man was a Vessel of honour fitted for that use whereunto the Lord had called him, which was, to bear a living Testimony for his Name, in which he was found very faithful, not in Word and Doctrine only, but i● Life and Conversation also, in which he shined as a Light upon a Candlestick, which gives a Light to all which be in the Room; so was the godly Life of this ever blessedman, of which I am Treating, it gave a Light easy to be discerned by all who are of the Family & Household of Faith; nay, his and Truth's Enemies see it, and were made ofttimes to confess it, and say, that he was a man of an Honest, Godly & Upright Life; such a Luster & Brightness did it cast, that Truth was greatly honoured by it, not only in the Town of Woodbridg where he dwelled, but where ever he came or was known, his Life preached Truth, his Carriage was Innocent, his Words were very Savoury, savouring of what his Heart and inward parts was filled with, which ministered Grace to his Hearers. And as to that Testimony that God had given him to bear for his Name in Word and Doctrine, he was very faithful in it, and was ofttimes drawn in the Love of God to travel upon the account of it, in great Weakness and Infirmness of Body, which for the most part possessed him, but great was the Strength and Vigour of his inward man, which ofttimes, as it were, swallowed up the weakness of the outward man: I have often seen him go into a Meeting when it was thought he had more need have been in Bed; such many times was his Weakness and Illness, but strong was that Love in which he was drawn forth to serve the Lord his God, which ofttimes in the Assemblies of God's People flowed from him as sweet streams from a pleasant Fountain, to the great refreshment of the right Seed and nourishment of the true Birth, in the sense of which his Heart was often filled with that strength of Life and heavenly Courage, that he would appear like a Giant greatly refreshed with new Wine, ready to run a Race, where there was no appearance of the bodily weakness as before; but when his Testimony hath been ended, and Service for that time over, he hath been like on● ready to give up the Ghost, his weakness again repossessing his earthly House of Clay, by which I have often observed, how in a wonderful manner (as to the outward man) the mighty Power of God attended the blessed Testimony, and acceptable Service of this Servant of Christ; he was a worthy and honourable Instrument in the hand of the Lord, and many were turned to the Lord by him; for the Lord of the Vinyard employed him therein, both to Plant and Water, he being very well accomplished and fitted for both, being thereunto educated by the Power of God in the School of Christ: He delightd much in breaking up of untilled Ground, often having Meetings where there was never any by Friends before, and the Lord very much blessed and prospered his Labour in that very respect in adding to his Church thereby: He was indeed the Father of many Children, who were begotten by him into the Faith of the Lord Jesus Christ; God had given him a ready Utterance, his Tongue was as the Pen of a ready Writer, often minding Friends of the day wherein they first received the Truth, & to remember their first Love, that though they had known much, & experienced much, & had witnessed a large increase in the Riches of God's Kingdom, yet to remember that in which God first appeared (viz.) the measure of God's Gift (or Grace) in their Hearts, there to stay their Minds, often mentioning the command of God to Jacob, who after many Trials, Travels and Exercises, and after God had given him great increase of Riches, as Flocks and Herds, Wives and Children, which he divided into three Bands (in order to meet his Brother Esau) admiring the goodness of the God of his Fathers who had given him all that Riches, who only with his Staff (did some time before) traveled over Jordan; yet after all this, God commanded him to go to Bethel, the place where the Lord at first appeared to him, when he fled from his Brother Esau, there to dwell, and erect an Altar, and call upon his Name: He often had it upon him to put Friends in mind of speaking the true Language, to say thee or thou to a single Person, without respect of Persons, the contrary being false, and so out of the Truth; it was likewise much upon him to exhort Friends to feel the concern of Truth upon their Spirits, that in the true sense thereof they might feel the drawing of the Love of God to Meet and Assemble themselves together in his Name and Fear, and that they might truly know and understand the end of their meeting, and what God therein requires of them, that they might not go to Meetings as many People go to their Church (as they call it) to be a little serious while they are there, and when they are gone thence let their minds out, as if they had left their God behind them, such a coming to meetings would not stand any one in stead in a time of Exercise, or a day of Trial; much might be writ, as to the good Exhortations, Admonitions, Advice and good-Counsel which oftentimes opened in his Heart in the Meetings and Assembles of Friends, but I must refer my friendly Reader to the persual of his Cordial and Soul refreshing Epistles (as in the Life they are Read, by which they were given forth) for his or her further satisfaction; only I cannot pass by, as not to mention his frequent wrestle in Prayer with the Lord for the good of all, but more especially for those of the Household of Faith, not forgetting the Sufferers of all sorts, whether in Body or in Mind, particularly such as suffer Imprisonment for the Testimony of a good Conscience; he often prayed that God would be pleased to make the Prison as a Palace to them, through the incomes of his heavenly Life and blessed Presence in and to their Souls; and such as lay upon a Bed of Sickness, that God would be their Comfort; such as traveled by Sea or Land in the Work or Service of the Lord, that he would be their Support, and by his living Power and Presence them accompany that their Service might be effectual, & they enabled with cheerfulness to undergo what it should please God to permit or suffer to befall them for their Testimony sake; he often interceded with God for his very Enemies, (having learned that Lesson to love Enemies) that it would please the Lord to turn their Hearts, and to open their Eyes, that they may see against whom they are striving, and against whom they are setting themselves in battle array, as Bayers & Thorns against consuming Fire, that they might behold him whom with their Sins they had Pierced, & whom in his Members they had Persecuted, that they might mourn over him, and if it were the will of God Repent, Return, be Converted and Healed; he oft remembered this the Land of his Nativity in his Supplications to God, that it would please him, if so it seemed good in his sight, to prevent those impending Judgements (that hang over it, ready like a dreadful Tempest to break, and fall upon it) by its speedy Repenting, and breaking off from those great Sins and Evils that abound and superabound in it (which in Nature seem to Equal, if not Exceed the Sins of Sodom) and that it would please God, if that it seemed good in his sight, to frustrate, confound and bring to nought the devices, contrivances and consultations of that wicked Spirit, and those wicked Instruments that device, contrive and consult its Overthrow and Destruction. Thus did the Love of God flow from the Heart of this Servant of his, not only to Friends, but to Enemies, having so learned of his Master Christ Jesus, whom he faithfully served in his Generation, and with whom he forever resteth. Now Friends, having hinted something of the Testimony this good man bore for God in Life and Conversation, and also in Word and Doctrine, having a dispensation of the Word of Life committed to him to declare to others, he being an able Minister of the same; now it remains to speak something of his Testimony he bore for God in Suffering; it was not only given him to Believe, but to Suffer for the Name of Christ, in which, by the permission of God, he had a large share, especially by Imprisonment, which many times was long and tedious, had he not been supported by the Power of God, for whose Cause he Suffered, and in whose Will he was truly contented to undergo what wicked men were permitted to inflict upon him, for his Conscience sake towards God, eyeing the Will of God in all, in which was his Peace and true lasting Satisfaction; the principal places of his Imprisonment were at Yar●oth, Norwich-Castle, Blibro, Melton, Ipswich and Edmondsbury; in the last of which he remained a close Prisoner, scarce setting his Foot over the Threshold in five Years time; he was several times a Prisoner in Melton Goal, as likewise in the County Goal at Ipswich, where he breathed his last Breath, in which two places latterward myself, with several of our Friends in and about Woodbridg, were Prisoners with him, as particularly in this Persecution, which began five Years since by Edmond Brume, Priest of Woodbridg, but committed by Justice Bacon, and Justice Bohon, for refusing to take an Oath, where he remained Prisoner about half a Year; but after some breathing space, our old Persecuting Adversary, Priest Brume, began afresh to breath out his Threaten, like the Persecutors of old, and getting a Justice for his turn, began to stir up the Town Officers, and disturb our Meeting (who of themselves might be unwilling) and upon the 12th day of the 6th month 1683 there came to our Meeting the aforesaid Officers, wher● our dear Friend William Bennit was upon his Knees in Prayer to God, from which he was violently haled away, by one Robert Chapman, a Constable (being put forward thereto by John Firman Church warden) and with several others of us taken out of our peaceable Meeting at Woodbridg, and carried before Edmond Jenny of Bredfeild Justice, who committed us to Melton Goal, for being at a Quaker-Meeting (which is contrary to Law) as saith the Mittimas; at which this innocent man greatly rejoiced, that the Lord see it meet for him to bear his Testimony in this suffering time, among his Friends & Brethren at home (because it was reported he should be sent to Edmondsbury Goal) and in the aforesaid Prison at Melton he was kept very close, and the next Sessions at Woodbridg he was brought into the Court, where an Indictment was preferred against him for being Riotously and Routously assembled, with many others, etc. to which (after many sound Reasons and Arguments to prove our Meetings Innocent, without any other design, but purely to Wait upon, and Worship the Lord, as good experience hath shown; and therefore no way Hurtful, or Dangerous to the Government, etc.) he pleaded not Guilty; it was demanded whether or no he would give Bail for his appearance the next quarter Sessions, & to be of the good Behaviour, which he refused to do, knowing he had not Mis-behaved himself; so he was again returned to Prison, and kept very close, and when the next Sessions came about, at Woodbridg, he was again brought into the Court, where Christopher Melton of Ipswich was Chairman (as at the Sessions before) where he with some other Friends was put on to Trial, and after a great deal of arguing between the Prisoners and the Court, the Jury went out, and after a considerable time returned, and being asked whether the Prisoners were Guilty or not Guilty, the Foreman answered not Guilty, at which the Chairman was highly displeased, and persuaded them, at the Bar, to alter their Verdict, that they were guilty of an unlawful Assembly, a practice how just I shall leave to the Judgement of the Impartial Reader; and as if this were not useage hard enough, they devised another piece of Cruelty, which was to remove him to Ipswich to be fined, and in a very cold day in the sharpest of this last Winter (which for excess of Cold, the like cannot be remembered) when it was late, in the latter part of the Day, Snowing very fast all the way he went, so that before he got to the Prison it was late in the Evening, and being many of us there, for want of Beds, and for want of timely notice to have made Provision, among others of us, this tender man was forced to set up all Night in that wet and cold Condition, and then he was called upon at that Sessions in Ispwich, and fined twenty Pound (at which he was no ways dismayed) and so he was returned to Prison till he should pay his Fine, where he meet with hard usage from the Jailer, he not answering his unreasonable demands, & remained close Prisoner until the next Sessions at Ipswich, where he was again called into the Court, and nothing of the Fine spoken of, but Thomas Covel Clark of the Peace told him, they had a particular order from the King to deal with him; then he was profferred the Oath of Allegiance, which he refusing, he was again returned to Prison; after which, in some short time, it pleased the Lord to visit him with more than ordinary Sickness, which more and more increased upon him, in which time he desired to see several of his dear Friends, as he said, before he died, thereby signifying his departure to be at hand; and so upon the twenty third day of the fourth Month 1684; about three in the Morning, like an innocent man, he laid down his Head in peace with God, & died a faithful Sufferer for Christ Jesus, in a Testimony against the Persecutors of our Age; and my desire is, that his innocent Blood may not be laid to the charge of them that had a hand in his last Suffering, in which he sealed his Testimony with his Life: And there is one thing yet with me, concerning my deceased Friend, which is worthy of Observation; that is, when even Persecution was stirred up among us, if he had happened to have been from home upon the public service of Truth, when once he heard of it, he was not satisfied until he got home, to get his Shoulder to the Work; such was his care and respect to his Testimony at home, in a time of Suffering, the which makes our loss and want of him to be very great, especially at such a time as this, when suffering for the Truth abounds, in which he was a good Pattern; and indeed, time will discover the want of him more than at present it is by some perceived (the Lord make up, and restore our loss according to his own good will and pleasure) though his bodily Presence be removed from us, yet his Life is felt to remain, blessed be the Name of the Lord. As at the very hour of his departure, his dear Wife, with several other Friends, sitting by the Corpse, the Life newly departed, very sorrowful for their great loss, though his great gain; I say, as they thus sat, in retiredness of Mind, the Love & Life of God broke in upon them, in an abundant manner, to their great Refreshment and Satisfaction, which signified thus much, that though he had taken away his Servant from them, yet his Life should remain; and it will remain with them that walk worthy of it, for it is a never failing Treasure. And thus Friends I have given you a brief account of the Life, Sufferings and End of this Messenger of Christ, who hath delivered his Message, and done the Work of God in his Day; and Friends, that which remains to us is, tha● we may be found in our Day working the Work of God, in answering the Requirings of God, that so we may come to finish our Course with Joy, and lay down our Heads in Peace, as this Servant of God did, which is the desire of your Friend. Woodbridge the 24th of the 5th Month 1684. William Pert. A COLLECTION OF Certain Epistles OF Divine Consolation, etc. Dear Father and Mother, MY Endeared Love abounds towards you, and in that which hath brought me into true obedience to God and Man, do I salute you, and am present with you, as you come to be gathered thereunto; even into the spirit of holiness, in which is the unity of the Faithful, into which Spirit wait to feel your growth, and your obedience therein more and more, which growth standeth not in Words, but in Life and in Power; and wait to feel your increase therein, and decrease in Words which are out of the Power of God; many have grown rich in Words, and accounted that their growth without the Life, and have feed upon the Knowledge more than upon Life, and unto such the Famine is to come; therefore dear Hearts, yea exceeding dear to me, oh keep to the measure of God in your own Particulars, and be obedient to its operation, that you may come to witness your translation into the ●●rth Immortal▪ which translation standeth not in Words, but in Life and Power; therefore feel the operation of the Power of God ●● work out and mortify that which is reprovable by it; oh, obedience to the operation thereof is required by it of the Creature; for as it is to work upon the Soul, so it worketh not without the Soul's yielding obedience thereunto, so far as to work its translation, yet not the Soul's work, but the work of God in and upon the Soul; for though Christ is come a Light into the World, and is the Salvation of God, yet they that believe, not in him he is their Condemnation, and yet sufficient Salvation to them who believe in him, and obey him; for as the Light manifesteth Evil, yet if the Creature yield not obedience thereunto, he cannot have ●ower over the Evil; but if he yield obedience to the Light, it gives him power over Evil, yet not the Creatures Power, but the Power of God, which begetteth th● Will and ●h● 〈◊〉 also; therefore perfect obedience to the Light the Lord requireth of every one, and daily to Watch and Wrestle ●gainst that which is condemnable by the Light; for so long as the Creature knowingly lives in that (whether in Words ●● Deed● that it seethe to be reprovable by the Light, it cannot enjoy perfect peace with God; for the peace of God is enjoyed i● the Light; and truly if that Condemn, surely the Lord doth not Justify, though many believe they are Justified in the sight of God, through Christ, although the Witness of God le●s them see that they are yet in their Sins, and condemns them for Sin, and this Faith (or rather Unbelief) which leads them to believe that they, nor none else can be made free from all Sin on this side the Grave, and yet they imagine that they are free from it in the sight of God; but beware of that Faith, for it is accursed, and is not the true Faith which is the gift of God, which through Christ saveth from all Sin; for that Faith admits of Sin, but the Faith of God's Elect sets free from all Sin; for where the Wicked one hath seated this Faith or Persuasion in the Heart, it is hard indeed for such a one to come to Live in the Life of Truth, which is holy; for as the Light doth let the Soul see it is in its Sins, and brings Trouble and Condemnation upon the Mind for Sin, and begets a desire also in the Heart to be freed from Sin, for it feels it lie as a weighty load upon its Conscience; behold even then the Wicked one, who hath begot this persuasion in the Creature that it cannot be freed from all Sin here, though freed from Sin in the sight of God; and this persuasion causes the Creature to do despite to the Spirit of Grace, and strive to quench its Reproofs, and so get at ease in that cursed Faith, and in that wrong Believe, and sit down short of the Peace of God; so that which begot desires in the Creature to be freed from Sin, comes to be vailed and slain, and many Thousands are in this State, who are large Boasters, who are boasting that they are Justified by Christ, and that Christ hath done all for them, and if they can believe it, that is sufficient, and yet still in their Sins. Now the Apostle Paul saith, If while we seek to be Justified by Christ, we ourselves be found Sinners; Is Christ therefore the Minister of Sin? God forbidden; and he saith, Shall we continue in Sin that Grace may abound? God forbidden; for how can we who are Dead to Sin Live any longer therein? and he said, They who are Justified by Faith, through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus, which Redemption is a redeeming out of Sin, and their Faith gave them power over the World, and did not admit of Sin, as the Professors Faith doth, who believe they can never be free from all Sin in this Life. Oh, in tender Love I beseech you to beware of that Delution and Persuasion of the Wicked one, for it is very dangerous, and a broad way which the Creature is prone to run into; now there is a great difference betwixt such who with the Light seethe much Sin (which they are addicted unto) yet to be subdued, and it is their sore Burden, and they in the strength of the Light wrestle against it, and so feel it daily decrease; and that Faith bego●, by which they see and believe that they shall be made Conquerors over all, as they abide faithful to the Light, which lets them see Sin: I say there is a great difference betwixt such as are there in that State (travelling out of Sin, out of Egypt, where the Bondage is, towards Zion, where the Freedom is) and such as are sat down satisfied, in a false Confidence, and in a wrong Belief, continuing in their Sins, and believe they shall not be free from it here, but you know otherwise; therefore in the Life of what you know abide, for truly it is the Life that must make alive, and keep alive to God, which Life is the Light of men, the true Light which lighteth every one tha● cometh into the World, and is the Salvation of God; and therein wait and feel your Minds exercised in its operation for this changeth the Mind, the Thoughts, the Affections and Desires; for as they have been Earthly, so they become Heavenly, and it becomes the Souls delight to answer the end of the Lord, and to endeavour to walk worthy of his Love, and it becomes its Life to do the Will of God, and to follow the Leadings of his Spirit, which leadeth out of Evil; but before this be witnessed the straight and narrow Way must be known, felt and lived in, and there must be a passing through the Fire, through the Water, through the one Baptising, which baptiseth into Death, and so translateth into Life, in which Life it will become your Life to do the Will of God. Oh, dear Father and Mother, keep, I beseech you, to the Gift of God in your own particulars, and be obedient to its Leadings, and therein watch diligently, continually, and with it try your Thoughts, and Words, and Intents, before you bring them forth, and if they be reprovable give the● up to the Light, the Fire, to be consumed; dear Hearts, it is in unexpressible Love that I writ thus unto you; and be very wary of spaking things by contraries, which you are addicted to, for there is no Lie of the Truth, and he that abideth in the Truth is preserved out of the Lie, he that loveth the Light bringeth his Deeds to the Light to try them, whether they be wrought in God; so be not forward to utter Words, but feel the Light of Christ to guide and lead you, and bring your Thoughts and Words to it, to try them, whether you may speak them yea or nay; now if they be reprovable by the Light, than they are to die, and not be brought forth, for if they be, this grieveth the Righteous Spirit of God, and breaks your Peace with the Lord, for if his Witness Condemn, he doth not Justify; so the Creature keeping low in the pure Fear and Dread of the Lord, it dare not do that, whether in Thought, Word or Deed, which it seethe to be Vain and Evil, if it could gain the whole World by it; but truly the Professors are out of this Condition, though they can talk of the Fear of the Lord, and scarce one of a 〈…〉 is come ●here, into that state, but this is a hard 〈…〉 is able to bear it? yet it is a true saying, though 〈…〉 believe it; oh, the largest Talkers, and Declarers, and Knowers, even of the highest sort, are farthest from the Life of Truth, which is holy; for truly such are settled on their Lees, and have been building long, and very high, and have gathered much Riches, and it is hard for these to lose all, and their Building to fall, and not one Stone to be left upon another, but all to be thrown down; oh, the Lord God of Compassion is a gathering many tender Hearts from amongst them, who hunger and breath after him, and is not satisfied with the Husks, the Shadows and Dead Forms, in which they dwell, and poor Hearts, they have been long running from Mountain to Hill, and have sought after the Lord, even fervently, Day after Day, Year after Year, and could not find him whom their Souls longed for; but now such is the Lord a gathering into his Fold where they shall enjoy their Shepherd, and their Souls shall not want. So once more do I in tender Love direct you to the Gift of God in your own particulars, and therein wait upon the Lord for Power, from the Lord, over that which is contrary to the Lord, and condemnable by his Light in your own Hearts; and keep in the fewness of Words, for too many Words becometh not those who professeth Godliness; but let your Words be few, and let them savour of the Grace of God, which leadeth into a Meek, Sober, Modest, Lif●, that so your upright sober Conversation may preach Righteousness, even to the convincing of them who have been as Teachers over you, whom ye will come to see, as you keep to the measure of God, and know them to be a People whose Minds are at Liberty, and are at case in the Flesh, and know not a Stay to their Minds, a Stop to their Thoughts, a Bridle to their Tongues, which if they be not come to know, feel and abide therein, let their Knowledge never so large, their Declarations never so high, their Words never so deep, yea and true also; yet I say, and my saying is true, though hard to many to bear (that if such come not, and keep not to that which is to be a Stay to the Mind, a Stop to their Thoughts, a Brible to their Tongues, a Lantern to their F●●●, a Light ●o their Steps) their Knowledge, their Declarations, their Works and their Suffering, it is all in vain; and a Babe of the Heavenly Birth sees and comprehends them, and their large Cover are to narrow to hid them from their Eye: Well, into the hand of the Lord do I commit you, for to come to be gathered into, and preserved in the pure Fear of God, Watchful and Diligent in the Light, and to War and Wrestle in the strength of it, against that which you see is to be Mortified; so be willing to pass through the straight Gate, into the narrow Way to walk, which few findeth, and are made willing to walk therein; But the First shall be Last, and the Last First, for many are Called, and but few Chosen. And dear Ones, one thing more I have to say unto you, beware and take heed of Condemning one another for doing that Evil which you see yourselves are addicted unto, but first see it Subdued and Mortified in yourselves, whether it be in Word or Action, before you Condemn others for it, though they be Profane People; and when you spoke a Word of Reproof to any, beware of doing it in a light Frothy way, as many do, even in the light Airy Spirit, which bringeth forth the same things in themselves; but let it be done in the Sober, Solled, Seasoned, Savoury, Holy Spirit of the Lord God, that it may reach to the Witness of God in them unto whom you speak, and then is it profitable; so the Lord God Almighty, Infinite and Wise, preserve me, and you, and all his little Ones, in his holy Awe and Dread, and therein to pass the time of our Pilgrimage here in Fear and Trembling, Farewell. From your Son, who is come into the Heirship of Eternity, William Bennit. Bliborough Goal the 5th Month 1661. A tender and unfeigned Salutation of Love and to Professors, etc. THe Lord God Almighty, hath, and is a looking down upon the Sons and Daughters of Men; and hath, and doth behold many of them, even as poor scattered Sheep without a Shepherd, wandering as in the Deserts and waste howling Wilderness, wandering as upon the barren Mountains, and dry Heaths; hungry and thirsty, their souls unsatisfied, seeking diligently for food upon the barren Mountains; running from Mountain to Mountain, and from Hill to Hill, and cannot find that Food that will truly satisfy their hungry Souls; and running from one broken Cistern to another, and cannot find one drop of water that will truly refresh their thirsty Souls; who are seeking the living God amongst the dead Forms, and seeking Meat among the Shells, and the Substance among the Shadows, and cannot find that which they seek after, nor enjoy him whom their Souls longeth for; seeking rest and can find no true Rest; desiring to know where the Lord God (the good Shepherd of Israel) feeds his Sheep and Lambs, and where they lie down in quietness and rest, free from the fear of Evil. And this the Lord God of pity hath seen, and in his Infinite tender bowels, hath been (and now is) moved with yearnings of pity and compassion towards them, and for his own Seeds sake he hath, and is (in Mercy to them) Ezek. 34. 11, &c stretching forth the Hand of his loving kindness unto them; to gather (in one) the scattered, to gather together (in one) the dispersed, to bring home the wanderer, and the prodigal (that hath long fed upon the husks among the Swine) to the Father's house of plenty, where there is bread enough, and water faileth not. Yea, the Lord God Almighty, of Heaven and Earth, hath, and is lifting up an Ensign for the Nations, and hath, and will assemble the outcasts of Jacob, and the dispersed Judah, from the four corners of the Earth, and hath, and will return the Captivity of his People; and than Jacob shall be glad, and Israel shall rejoice in him (the steam of Psal. 14. 7. Jesse) which doth and shall stand for an Ensign for the people and unto him doth, and shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest is, and shall be sweet and glorious to the poor, for whom he will Judge in Righteousness; and Reprove with Equity, for the meek of the Earth; who will smite the Earth with the Rod of his Mouth, and with the breath of his Lips will he slay the Wicked, and Rule the Nations with his Iron Rod, and break the Heathen to pieces like a Potter's Psal. 2. 8. 9 Vessel; who hath Righteousness for the girdle of his Loins, and Faithfulness the girdle of his Reins; who hath on the Breastplate of Righteousness, and a Helmet of Salvation on his Head; who hath put on the Garment of Vengeance for clothing, and is clad with Zeal as with a Cloak; who with the twoedged sword that proceeds out of his mouth, makes War in Righteousness; who hath on a Vesture dipped in blood, and his Name is called the Word Rev. 19 13 Isa. 42. 6, 7. & 4●. ●. Luk. 2. 30, 31 32 Isa. 35. 5, 6, 7. of God. This is he whom the Lord giveth for a Covenant of the people, and for a light of the Gentiles, to be his Salvation to the ends of the Earth, to open the Blind eyes, to unstop the Deaf ears, to cause the tongue of the Dumb to sing, and the Lame to leap as an Heart; to cause water to come forth of the Desert, and streams in the Wilderness; the parched ground to become a pool, and dry heaths springs of water; to make the Wilderness and the solitary place glad, and the Desert to rejoice, and blossom as a Rose; who is anointed of God to Preach glad Tidings to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim Isa. 61. 1, 2, 3. Liberty to the poor Captive, and to comfort the the Mourners in Zion; to give beauty for ashes, the oil of Joy for Mourning, the garment of Praise for the Spirit of heaviness; that they may flourish as Trees of Righteousness of the Lords own planting, bringing forth fruit unto him 1 Sam. 2. 4, 5 6, 7. that he (in and through them) may be glorified. He broke th● bows of the Mighty, and that which is weak and feeble, he girds with Strength and Courage; the Full and Rich, he causes to hire out for bread, and causeth the hunger of the hungry to cease; who causeth the barren to bear seven, and she that hath had many children, to wax barren and feeble; he woundeth and healeth, he killeth and causeth to live; he bringeth down, and raiseth up, even the poor he raiseth out of the dust, and the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among the Princes, and to inherit a Crown of Glory. This is he, who maketh all things a New, and Rev. 21. 1. 5 Isa. 65. 17. causeth all old things to pass away, who causeth the old Heavens, and the old Earth to pass away, and drieth up the Sea; and creates a new Heaven, and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth Righteousness; this is he which worketh the strange work, the marvellous work, which causeth the ears of those that hear thereof to tingle: This is he who is the strong Arm of God's Mighty Power, which is stretched forth towards the helpless, to deliver the poor and needy out of the hand of him who is too strong for them; Isa. 52 1● The Arm of God's Salvation, which he is making bare before the eyes of the Captives, that they may see him, and come unto him who is Mighty, upon whom help is laid to deliver them, and to save to the utmost them that come unto him; this (as I said) is the hand of God's loving kindness, which in mercy is stretched forth towards you, who cannot be satisfied with the husks, shells, and shadows, but thirst and desire after him the Substance, the living Bread which the living Soul feeds upon and lives, and grows up thereby into Eternal life. Ah dear People! this is the Salvation of God whom I declare of, and Salvation is not to be had in another besides him, who is the Immortal word Luk 2. 29, 30. of Eternal life which abides for ever; which was in the beginning before the visibles were, by whom all things were made, whether visible or invisible, and without Joh. 1. 1 etc. him was nothing made that was made; and in him (the Word) was life, and this life is the light of men, and he is the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world; and was in the world, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not, but unto them that received him, he gave power to become the Sons of God. Who had a body prepared him, in which he suffered the Will of him that sent him; who was born of the Virgin Mary, whom King Herod sought to destroy, who was circumcised the eighth day, and likewise baptised by John the Baptist, who likewise eat the Passeover with his Disciples, (for he came to fulfil all Righteousness) who was betrayed by Judas, who was judged to die by Ponrius Pilate, who was Crucified without the Gates of Jerusalem, who was laid in a Sepulchre, who risen again the third day according to the Scriptures, who ascended up into Heaven, and sitteth at the Right hand of God who is glorified with the same Glory that he had with the Father before the world began; who came again unto his Disciples according to his promise; who said unto them, I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you: I will send you a Comforter that shall abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth. I am Joh. 14 16, 18, 26. the Truth (saith Christ) whom the world cannot receive, because it seethe him not, neither knoweth him; but you know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be (Mark) in you; yet a little while and the world sees me no more: (Mark this) you who are so much gazing and looking for his coming without, (but still fail of your expectation) that you know not his coming within you to be a Comforter. But you see me, and because I live you shall live also, (saith Christ to his Disciples) and in that day you shall know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I (Mark) in ●ou; and he the Spirit of Truth, shall lead you into all Truth, and shall teach you all things, and shall show you all things to come, and bring all things to your remembrance that I have said unto you, and shall reprove the world of Sin, of Righteousness, and of Judgement: And his Disciples according to his Luk. 24. 29. Acts, 2. 4. command, waited at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high, and had received the promise of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, which caused them to speak the wonderful things of God, as the Eternal Spirit of Truth gave them utterance; and then they were come to witness his Word fulfilled, when he said, He dewlleth with you, and shall be in ●ou; and this is the immortal Word which was in the beginning which Paul (who witnessed Christ the Son of God revealed in him, and was Gal. 1 15, 16. by him the eternal Spirit, made an able Minister of him) Preached to wit) Christ within, who said, Rom. 19 6, 7. 8. None should need to ascend, that is, to bring Christ down from above, or to descend, that is, to bring Christ from beneath, etc. but the word (to wit Christ is nigh thee in the heart, and in the mouth, to be obeyed and done: and this is the Word of Faith that Paul preached nigh in the heart, Even Christ in them ●he living hope, that was as an Anchor to their Souls, sure and steadfast) the hope of Glory. And Paul exhorted the Corinthians to examine themselves, and to prove themselves whether they were in the Faith; whether they knew not Christ to be in 2 ●or 13. 5. them, except they were Reprobates. And John in his writing to the Saints, reminds them of that within, which they had heard from the beginning; and says to them, Let that remain in you, (to wit, The word which was in the beginning) which you have heard from the beginning, and if it shall remain in you, ye shall continue in the Son and in the Father: and tells them, That they should not need that any man should teach them, but as the anointing which they had received of God abiding in them, should teach them, which was the Truth, (to wit) Christ the Truth in them, the anointed, the anointing: And as he had, and did teach them, so they were to abide in him; so they knew Christ in them, & witnessed the Power of God within, the Truth wit●i●, the Word nigh in their hearts, the Spirit of God in their inward parts, by which they were led, guided, taught an● instructed: For so many as are the Sons of God, (saith Paul) are led by the Spirit of God; and he that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his: and this gave them an understanding in the things of God, even the Spirit of God; For no man knows the things of God, [saith Paul] but by the Spirit ●f God, through which he was made anable Minister of the New 1 Cor. 2. 10, 11, 12 Testament, not of the Letter, but of the Spirit which giveth life. And he Preached the everlasting Gospel, Christ the Power of God, the Word nigh in the heart, and said, If our Gospel be hid, it is hid from them that are lost, in whom, [Mark] in whom the God of the world [the Prince of the power of the Air, that wicked spirit, that worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience] hath blinded their minds, lest the light of the glorious Gospel [Christ Jesus] should shine in, and unto them: But God, who commandeth light to shine out of darkness, hath shined [Mark] in our hearts, to give us the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus; and we have this treasure in the Earthen vessel, that the glory may be of God, and not of us: so the Saints Preached up Christ [the Word of Life, the Light, the Truth] within, and Rom 1. 19 1 Cor. 12. 7. Tit. 2. 11. said, That which is is to be known of God, is manifest in them: and Paul says, That the manifestation of the Spirit, is given to every man to profit withal; and the free Grace of God, saith he [Mark] that bringeth Salvation, hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that we denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. And the Saints, they witnessed their reconciliation, and were born again; they felt and knew that in themselves, of which they were born again even Christ 1 Pet. 23 24, 25. in them, the Seed incorruptible the Word of God, which lives and abides for ever, by which they were begotten again unto God, and quickened by the Word of life, even they who were once as dead stones, were raised up as living Children unto Abraham; and so they came to taste that the Lord was good and gracious; to taste and handle of the Word of Life, and to seed upon the Bread 1 Cor. 12. 13. of Life, and to drink of the Cup of Blessing, and so by one Spirit were baptised into one body, and were made to drink into one Spirit, wherein they worshipped and served the Lord God, and had Unity with the Lord, in and through the Eternal Spirit, and Unity one with another, which united their Souls unto each other, and unto the Lord God over all, blessed for ever. Ah, dear people! you in whose hearts there is true desires, and secret thirstings after the living God, wherever ye are scattered among the many Sects and people, towards you doth my soul, yea my tender soul yearn and stream with love and goodwill; and for your sakes dear people, doth my Soul travel in the womb of Supplication, that you might come to enjoy that which you are seeking after, and come to possess that you are thirsting for, and for your sakes mostly is this written, in tender bowels of unfeigned love and pity to your souls. And dear people, you that have true desires in you after the Lord, and hath been seeking of him, where you cannot find him; and hath been running from Mountain to Hill and from Hill to Mountain; from one broken Cistern to another, from one dead Form to another, but still are unsatisfied, and are sensible, that you still [notwithstanding your long profession and confession of God and Christ in words, and notwithstanding your practising some things that you read of, which the Saints once performed in obedience of the Spirit of Truth which led them thereunto] want the feeling enjoyment of the Love and sweet Peace of God, and go groaning daily under the burden of the bondage of sin and corruption, and desires to be set free therefrom. Oh, dear people! retire, retire with your minds inward, you who have been seeking a God a far off, and hunting after the Lord without, retire to within, and wait to know the Lord God near you, to know his pure Truth in your inward parts, his pure Spirit in you, to lead and guide you, to teach and instruct you; for God is a Spirit, and his teachings are spiritual; he must be known in Spirit, worshipped in Spirit and in Joh 4. 21, 22, 23, 24. Truth, not at the Mountain, neither at Jerusalem, not in this set Form, nor in the other Form, As lo here, and lo there, but in the Spirit is the Lord God known and worshipped aright, by them who are born of the Spirit: And so the spiritualised people, who are born o● the Spirit, and lives in the Spirit, and are taught and led by the Spirit of Truth, these are the peculiar people who Worship the God of Truth [who is a Spirit] in the Spirit and in the Truth; and these are acceptable Worshippers with the Lord, who own no Worship but his own which he teacheth his people by his Spirit; and they that is ignorant of the Spirit of God, they are ignorant of the true Worship of God which is in the Spirit; and although such may seem to Worship God, yet their Worship is not of God, nor accepted with God. It is the purified Sons of Levy [who have passed through Mal. 3. 1, 2, 3, 4. the fire, that are purged even as gold is purged and tried, and as silver is tried by him [the Light of Israel] who is as a Refiners Fire, and like Fuller's Soap] that can offer unto God an Offering in Righteousness, and their offerings is pleasant unto the Lord; but the polluted Isa. 10 17. Sacrifices, the halt, the blind, and the lame, is abomination unto the pure God of purity, who is Blessed, Blessed for evermore. And dear People, who have desires in you after the Lord, towards you doth my bowels yearn, where ever you are scattered among the many sects and heaps, this is a tender invitation unto you that have been spending your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which hath not yet satisfied your Souls, but still you are a thirsty for want of drink, and an hungry for want of food. Oh, dear people! retire inward, retire inward, hunt no longer abroad, run no longer from one broken Cistern to another; wait no longer at the Wells that men have digged, draw no longer at them, for still you thirst again. But oh! retire to within, tur● your minds inward, and wait to find and feel that in you, which you so carefully (with sorrow) hath been seeking without you; even to know Jacob's Well in you, which hath been dammed up with Earth by the uncircumcised, whilst you have been hunting abroad; therefore turn your minds inward to feel the gift that Christ gives; the Water that he gives, saith Christ to the Woman of Samaria, The water which I will give thee, shall [Mark] be in thee John 4. 14. a Well of water springing up unto Eternal life. So the Water that Christ gives, it's within; therefore turn inward to his pure gift in your own Hearts, to his pure Light in your own Consciences, for that comes from him, and leads unto him (them that do it love, follow, and obey) the Fountain of living Water, who satisfieth the thirst of the thirsty, and feedeth the hungry with good things. Therefore retire inward in your minds, and come unto him, and learn of him who is meek and low in Mae 11. 28, 29, 30. Isa. 55. 2, 3. the heart, to wit, Christ in you, except ye be Reprobates: harken diligently unto him, and eat ye that which is good, (no longer feed upon the husks) and let your souls delight themselves in fatness: come unto him, incline your ear, hear and your Soul shall live, and enter into Covenant with him who will be your God, and you shall be his people. And so, dear people, it is not enough for any to have a profession, and a talk of God and Christ in words, without the enjoyment and possession of him: It is not enough to confess and believe that Christ died at Jerusalem for sinners, and he hath done all for you, etc. for the drunkard and the swearer will say as much as this, and make a confession of Christ in words as many professors do, who say, They are justified by Christ, and he hath done all for them; and yet they are still in their sins, in the pride, covetousness, vanity, pomp, and vain glory of the world, in its vain customs, inventions, and traditions, seeking and loving its honour and respect, seeking and loving the praise of men more than the praise of God. But, dear people, it is not enough to confess Christ without, and say you believe in him, etc. except you come to know him made manifest in you to destroy the works of the Devil; for your professing and confessing of Christ dying at Jerusalem, etc. doth not cleanse your Hearts, nor sanctify your Souls, nor purge your Consciences from dead works, to serve the living God in newness of life; but still you see you are Bondslaves unto sin and corruption, and led captive with the lusts and desires of your own hearts; and it will be so dear people, until you turn your minds inward, to the pur● light of Christ in you, that doth discover the sin and corruption of your own hearts; and as you come to believe in that, to love and follow that, you will come to feel and find the working our of the old leaven of sin, iniquity and corruption, and working you into its nature, and so come to see, and feel, and witness, not only atalk of it, but your Regeneration wrought by Christ in you, the Immortal Word, to be bor● again of it, the Seed incorruptible, which must be known within, to bruise the Serpent's head, the god of the world, the wicked spirit that leads man into sin, which hath been exalted in the heart of man, and hath been Lord, Head, and King there; and the holy Seed, the pure life, that hath suffered, that hath been oppressed, even as a Cart is oppressed with sheaves, that hath been pierced, wounded and crucified, the Just hath suffered for the Unjust; he hath long been a man of sorrows, and largely acquainted with grief; he hath been smitten, and thou hast esteemed him not; but oh! he hath been wounded for, and by thy transgressions; and bruised by, and for thy iniquities; he hath born thy iniquity, whilst thou like a sheep hast gone astray, and followed thy own way. But oh! now return unto the good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his Sheep, and gathereth the scattered into the fold of Rest, where he feeds them, and causeth them to lie down in the fresh Pastures of life, where none can make them afraid; and feed, and sup with him, who is their daily Bread, their Life, their Rest, their Joy and Delight. So dear poople, whose desires are after the Lord, but are she King for Salvation, and after a God afar off, I beseech you to return inward (because I fervently desire that your Souls might come to taste of the love and sweet peace of my God, which is that which would satisfy your Souls) and to take heed to that in your hearts, which as light shineth in a dark place, discovering unto you the deeds of darkness, and the works of the night to be evil; and fear not that It will deceive ye, for it is the sure word of Prophecy, 2 Pet. 1. 19 unto which you do well to take heed, until the day dawn in your hearts, and light shine out of darkness, and wholly extinguish the night; and give no heed to them who speak evil of the way of the Lord, and count Truth to be error, and Light darkness; even as the professing Jews, they boasted of Moses, and of the Law, and of the Prophets, but when he whom Moses and the Prophets prophesied of, whom the Law did figure out, who fulfils the Law, who was the life of Moses and the Prophets, he came unto them, but they hated him, and said We Know that God spoke by Moses, but as for this fellow. we know not whence he is; he Mat. 9 29. the 8. 4, 8. the 12. 24 11 ch. 18, 16. is a Gluttoner, a Wine-bibber, a friend to Publicans and Sinners; he through Beelzebub the Prince of Devils doth cast out Devils, &c, And truly I may say, (not out of a prejudiced mind of Enmity towards any, for my Soul bears love and goodwill towards all men) that it is (as it were) the same now with many of the Professors in this age, who (as the Jews made a large boast and profession of Moses, the Law, and the Prophets, and hated him the life of them) doth make a large boast of Christ in words, and of his dying at Jerusalem, (which I believe he did, according as the Scripture testify) and that he hath done all for them, and if they can but believe it, that is enough, etc. And yet whilst they are thus professing him in words, behold many of them are enemies to his Life, and so enemies to him whom they boast of, who is the Word that was in the beginning, in whom was life, and his life is the light of men: The true light, saith John, that lighteth every man that cometh John 1 9 into the world; which the Professors say is a natural light; that which convinceth wicked men of sin in their own hearts, and judgeth them for evil doing; it is a natural light say the Professors, and so call the life of the Word, which is the light of men natural; it's a natural conscience say some, it's an insufficient light, it's a common grace, etc. so common it is indeed, that (as Paul says) it hath appeared unto Titus 2 11. all men, even that grace that brings Salvation: nay, some blasphemously will presume to say, it's a spirit of delusion, a spirit of error; and these are under the woe, who call the Truth error, and the Light Isa. 5. 20 & 23: 36. darkness, and the Good evil; and these one day shall know their blasphemy, and their words shall become their burden; and these are in great darkness and ignorance indeed, thick darkness fills their habitation, even the darkness of Egypt, that may be felt; and it is hard indeed for such to be brought into the pure light and unchangeable Truth of God; although with the Lord God Almighty nothing is impossible; and these like the Scribes and Pharisees, who, although they professed God in words, and said Mat. 23. 13. they had one Father even God, sought to shut up the Kingdom of Heaven from men, and would neither enter in themselves, nor suffer them that would: and so these, while they profess Christ in words, they speak evil of his Light and Truth, and will neither own it themselves, nor suffer (as much as in them lie) them that would; but cries out, take heed, beware of the light the Quakers prate of, it is darkness, say they, it will deceive you, and delude you, and lead you into Error, etc. But let all people know, the light (which the people of God, called Quakers, speak of, and in bowels of love direct people's minds unto) is the life of the Word, which is Immortal, Eternal, Permanent, Divine, and Immutable, and not Natural. Joh. 1, & 2 3, 9 Thou, whoever thou art, and whatever by men thou art accounted of, that doth make a large profession of God, Christ, and the Scriptures of Truth in words, and doth hate, and speak evil of the Light, the true Light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, thou art a hater of God and of Christ, and art of Antichrist, against Christ; although thou professest him in words, and sayest thou art saved by him, and justified by him, etc. yet if thou hatest his light in thy own Conscience, which doth check thee for evil doing, and prick thee for thy sins in secret, thou art in enmity to him, and condemned by the Light, and not justified; and thy confession of Christ in words will not save thee from his Righteous Condemnation, whilst thou hatest his pure light in thy Conscience, and thy profession is for the fire, and unto the Light thou must come before thou canst find true peace with the Lord God. Yea, whatever thou art, who art climbed, and a climbing up in thy Imaginations, and a soaring up aloft with the god of the world, (the Prince of the power of the Air) above the Light (the Door into the fold) striving to enter into the fold, and not by the Door, to wit) the Light, thou art the Thief John 10. 1, 8, 9 and Robber, who runs before Christ, the Light, the Door into the Fold, and thou must come down; come down, to that which appears a small thing in thy eye, (who art swelled big in thy fleshly wisdom, from which the things of God's Kingdom is hid) even to that which thou counts a foolish thing, a weak, a poor thing, 1 Cor. 1. 27, 28, 29, 30, 31. and 19 20, 21. not worth the minding or heeding; but this is it (the foolish thing in thy eye that is to confound thy wisdom, and turn it into foolishness, that so thou beecoming a fool, may be made wise in it: This is the weak thing, in thy eye, which is to confound thy strength, and make thee weak, that thou mayst be strong in it, and the poor thing in thy eye, which is to rob thee of all thy Riches, that thou becoming poor, in it may be made Rich; so where is the Wise, the Rabbi, the Scribe, the Disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the Wisdom of this world? for the world by wisdom knows not God; and so the boaster is excluded, that God may have the Glory, and all flesh abased, and silent before him, who of God is made unto his Saints, that love his Light, and are led by his Spirit, Wisdom, Strength, Power, Righteousness, Justification and Redemption, who have the heavenly Treasure in the Earthen vessel, that the glory may be of God, who is worthy of all Glory and Praise for ever. So heed not (dear people, you who have any desire in you after the Lord) what this man, or the other, saith of the Light; but love the Light, and take heed unto it, for that which judges and condems sin in you, which John 3. 20 is that which separates you from the Lord, and hinders your peace with the Lord, and is the cause of your burden and sorrow; this you shall not need to fear will delude you; That is a spirit of delusion, that leads into sin and evil, beware of that; but that which reproves you for evil in your own hearts, and manifests the deeds of darkness, take heed unto it, for that is the Light that doth make manifest. Eph. 5. 13, 14. darkness; that which is reprovable is made manifest by the Light; for whatever makes manifest, is Light, and that will not only make manifest the sin and evil, but as you come to turn your minds in, unto it, and love, and follow it, it will save you from your sins, and redeem your minds and souls unto God; for who receive his Light, his pure Grace in them, they receive power through it to become the Sons of God; for through his Grace doth he manifest his power in them that believe in the Light, to the drawing of their hearts and minds out of the ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to the teaching of them to live soberly, and righteously, and godly in this present world; and thus the free Grace of God bringeth Salvation to their Souls. And so dear people, thus you, who come to believe in the Light, to love and obey the Light in your own Consciences, will come to feel and witness the work of the Lord God in your hearts, the working and operation of the Word of Life, to the casting out of the Bondwoman and her Son, which is not to inherit; to the binding of the strong man, and casting of him out; yea, the Old man with his deeds is to be put off, and you renewed in the spirit of your minds, and the new Man is to Eph. 4. 20, 21, 22, 23. be put on, who after God, is created in Righteousness and true Holiness, to put him on, and to bring him forth before all men, the only begotten Son of God, who is full of Grace and Truth, Mercy and Love, Pity and Compassion, Purity and Holiness, and towards all, who loveth Enemies and doth good to them that hate him, etc. So coming to the Light, Christ Jesus, you come to the Substance, to him, in whom the Figures, Types, and Shadows end in, and so come to witness him in you, who fulfils all Righteousness; he who is the end of the Law for ●ighteousness sake, unto them that believe in him; and to be Circumcised in him, with the Circumcision Col. 2. 11, 12. made without hands▪ by the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the Circumcision of Christ, which the outward Circumcision was a figure of; and to witness the Baptism of Christ, which is with the Holy Ghost and fire, which John's Baptism with water outward, was a true figure of; and he bore Testimony unto Christ, the Light of the world, who said, I must decrease, but he must increase. I indeed baptise you with water, but he (Christ Jesus, who was before me) shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with Fire; whose fan is in his hand, and he shall throughly purge his floor; the Wheat he shall gather into his Garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. So the outward water was but a type, the outward washing a type of the inward washing, and inward cleansing, and inward purging, and purifying by the Water of Life, or the Blood of Jesus, that cleanseth from all sin, which is felt thus to work in them who believe in the Light, and walk in the Light; and they come to know that begotten in them, that feeds upon the flesh of Christ, which is the living Bread, upon which the living Soul seeds, and is the Substance which the Bread and Wine outward did figure out; which the Manna (that God gave the Israel of old in the Wilderness) was a pure type of the heavenly Manna, the living Bread, which the birth that is born of God feeds upon, and lives thereby, and grows up into Eternal life. The day of gathering is come, wherein the Lord God of everlasting bowels of Compassion is a gathering the despersed, and seeking that which was lost, and bringing back that which was driven away, and healing that Ezek. 34. 12 13, 14, 9, 16. which was sick, and binding up that which was broken; but the strong and the fat he is feeding with Judgement. The Lord is a gathering people out of the Forms, Shells, and Shadows, wherein many have long stuck, and is bringing of them to the Substance and life itself, out of the many Sects, and heaps, and divers ways, into the one pure path, into the one way of Life, Light, Peace, Truth, and Righteousness, who by the one Spirit, hath, and is baptising them who believe in the Light) 1 Cor. 12. 13 into the one body, wherein the unity, the oneness, and the fellowship is witnessed; blessed be his Name. The way of the Lord is pure and Righteous, and unchangeable; I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, saith Christ, John 14. 6. Rom. 10. 8 John 12. 46. & 8. 12. the immortal Word, which (saith Paul) is nigh in the heart, to be obeyed and done: This is he, the Light, the Salvation of God, the true Light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world; who saith, None can come unto the Father, but by me: I am come a Light into the world, (saith Christ) that whosoever believe in me shall not abide in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Therefore, dear people love the Light, and believe in the Light, while ye have the Light, that so you may become children of the Light, and become heirs of an Inheritance incorruptible, that will never fade away: There is no obtaining the Crown but through the Cross, and this you will come to know, who come to love the Light, and to be taught of him, and to learn of him who is meek and low in heart, Mat 11. 29 and 6. 13. & and 10. 38. and to follow him in the straight and narrow way that leads to life, which few there be that find it, and walk therein: He that will be my Disciple, saith Christ, must deny himself, and take up his daily Cross and follow me. This you will come to feel and witness, if you be followers of the Light, a daily denying of self you will know, a denying of your own wills, your own desires, your own thoughts, your own affections, your own words and works, your own wisdom and righteousness, and a daily taking up the Cross, an hourly living in the Cross; through which you must come to be crucified to the World, its Vanity, its Pomp, Pastime and Pleasures, Sins and Iniquities, vain Words, Psal. 6. 14 Works, Fashions Customs, Inventions and Traditions; so coming to be crucified with Christ unto the world, and to be Baptised into death with him unto sin, you will come to live with him unto God in the life of Righteousness; in whom (then) you will find that Rest, Satisfaction, Joy, Comfort and Peace which no man can give unto you. So, dear people, who are seeking, and desiring after the Lord God, to find peace and comfort to your souls, this I leave with you; flee not from that which doth judge you in your own hearts for sin and evil, and bring trouble upon you, and sorrow upon you, and woundeth and pierceth you in secret, because of Transgression: I say, love that flee not from it; for oh dear people! how many is there, that when they have been judged by God's pure light in their hearts for their sins, when trouble, and sorrow, and distress, hath seized on them, because of their sins, which Gods Witness hath set in order before their eyes; then have they run unto vain helps, and run unto man for help, even to those that could not speak a word in season to them, but have daubed them up with untempered Mortar, and have endeavoured to heal their wound deceitfully, and have preached Peace to that which is for judgement, and so thereby they have gotten some kind of satisfaction for a time, until the Lord wounded them again with the Sword of his Righteous Judgements, & then their seeming rest fled away as smack before the wind, and sorrow & trouble took hold on them again, as pain on a Woman in travel; and then they have run again unto that which could not remove the very cause of their trouble and sorrow; they have run to the Scriptures of Truth, and therein have found a promise, and this they have applied to themselves, for to get peace and rest thereby; when, alas poor hearts, they have not been in that state and condition which that promise (which they applied to themselves) was unto, and so not for them; and then they have read what the Saints once did and performed, and they set themselves to do the like, and to imitate them; and so hereby for a time they have gotten some satisfaction, some kind of rest and peace, until the Lord God did thunder again with Dread, and uttered his Voice with Terror, which caused the Earth to tremble, and their habitation to fall, and then dissolation came upon them again, and their Fig-leave garment came to be rend, and their wound greater than ever it was before; and thus they have run from Mountain to Hill, from one Physician to another for healing, but they were unto them as Physicians of no value; for none of them could rightly heal their wounds, until at last, they said in their hearts, We will seek no more unto man, for vain is the help of man: But we will return unto the Lord God who hath wounded us, and he will heal us; who hath broken us in pieces, and he will bind us up; and so returning to the light of Christ Jesus in their own hearts, (with which the Lord hath wounded them for their sins, and brought trouble and sorrow upon them for their iniquities, waiting therein in patience upon the Lord God, in the way of his Righteous Judgements, which was set up in their hearts) they came to feel, through their believing in the Light, and loving the Light by which they were wounded for sin, the cause of their sorrow, and trouble and wounds, taken away by the Blood of Jesus, which is his life, which they came to feel i● them, cleansing of them from their sins, and washing of them away; and so the very cause of their wound being taken away, and the corruption purged out; then he, the tender, pitiful compassionate God of Mercy, that in mercy towards them had wounded them, healed them with the sweet Oil of joy, peace, and gladness; and now these that were mourners do rejoice; and they that were heavy hearted are made glad; and beauty is given them for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning; the garment of praise, for the spirit of heaviness; and are become Trees of Righteousness, the Lords own planting, bringing forth fruit to his glory and praise, who hath thus set them free from their sorrow and trouble. These can say, Good it is to wait upon the Lord God in the Isa. 26. 8. & 2●. 9 way of his Judgements. Lo, this is the Lord whom we have waited for, this is our God, we have waited for him; come let us rejoice in his Salvation wherewith he hath saved us; he hath redeemed us out of the horrible Pit, out of the miry clay hath he brought us, and set our feet upon a Rock, and doth establish our go; who filleth our Souls with the fatness of his house, and causeth us to drink of the River of his Pleasure, and to suck and be satisfied with the Consolation of the Breast, and to milk out, and be delighted in the abnundance of the sweetness of its virtue. Oh what! what shall we render unto the Lord, unto the Lord our God for his benefits? oh! what shall we render unto him for his Mercies? what shall we render unto him for his loving kindness? Oh! let us take the Cup of his Salvation, and drink thereof abundantly; and in the strength of the vigour of its virtue, let us, in the meekness of our hearts, and in the lowliness and contriteness of our Souls, praise, praise, the Name of the Lord our God, who is worthy of all Glory and Praise, for ever, and for evermore. A few words more unto you, dear people, who desire more after the love and peace of God, than the glory and pleasures of the world. Dear people, take heed unto that which discovers unto you what are your thoughts, whether they be good or evil; for that is it which must redeem your minds unto God; and wait to come to know it to be a stay to your minds, and a stop to your thoughts, and a bridle to your tongues, and to cause a watch before your mouth, and to raise a holy fear in your hearts of offending the Righteous God of Righteousness, in thought, in word, in deed. And dear people, who have so much depended and relied upon man for teaching, retire you with your minds inward, to the manifestation of the Spirit of God in your own hearts, and wait in it to come to know the Lord God to be your Teacher; ●hat if you should be separated from those that have been your Teachers, and put into a Hole, a Dungeon, or Cave of the Earth for your Consciences towards God, and so be separated from all your teaching outward, you may then feel, find and witness the Lord to teach you, to instruct you, counsel and direct you, comfort and refresh you, even by his pure Eternal Spirit in you; for all the children of the Lord, shall be taught of the Lord, and established in Righteousness, and great shall be their peace in the God of their Salvation, unto whom, unto whom be glory, glory, honour and praise for ever, and evermore; for he is worthy, he is worthy, worthy saith my soul, unto whom be glory in the highest. Amen. So, dear people, for your sakes mostly was these foregoing lines written, in obedience to the tender spirit of love in my heart, which drew me thereunto; and in tender unfeigned love, and pure goodwill to your souls, who have had, and still have true desires in your hearts after the Lord, and have been, and still are thirsting and hungering after the way of Truth and Righteousness, and have been, and still are seeking and hunting among the husks, shells, and shadows, for to find the substance, but still fail of your expectation, and cannot find true and perfect satisfaction, but secretly in your hearts are panting and thirsting after the living water, and are weary of feeding upon the husks, and begin to say (within yourselves) to each other, Come, we have been long wandering abroad, hunting after the Lord afar off, seeking of him in this Form, and in the other Form, running from Mountain to Hill, from one Man to another, to inquire for him whom our Souls long for; but we still want the true enjoyment of him: And although man hath told us we should find him there in this Way, and in the other Way; in this Form, and in the other Form; in this Ordinance, and the other Ordinance; wherein we have been tossed about, and turned from one broken Cistern to another, but still w● want true satisfaction for our souls, for we want the true enjoyment of the assurance of the Love and Peace of God: wherefore, come let us no longer hunt abroad, nor run any longer from one man to another. But oh! come let us retire our minds inward, and in stillness and quietness, in sollidness and seriousness let us wait upon the Lord, and he himself will teach us of his ways, and lead us into the path of Righteousness, where we shall meet him whom our souls hath long panted after, even as the Hart panteth after the water Brooks; wherefore let us wait upon the Lord, for the Lord is good to the man that waiteth for him, to the ●am 3 25 26. Soul that seeketh him. Therefore, come let us both hope, and quietly (without hunting any more abroad) wait to find and feel in ourselves the salvation of the Lord, that so we may in truth come to find, and to say, He is come, he is come, and made manifest in us, whom our souls longed after; and behold his reward is with him, even joy, comfort, peace, rest, and satisfaction to our souls. Lo, this is the Lord, we have waited for him: Lo, this is our God whom we have waited for; now let us rejoice, and be glad in his salvation, and praise his Eternal Name. I say, dear people, towards you is the opening and yearning of my bowels, in the casting of this my Mite amongst you, in the meekness and humility of my soul, and the God of Heaven (for his own Seed sake) make it a service of good to you. And then will the only end of my soul herein be answered thereby▪ who am your friend, and one who desires that you off the barren mountains may be gathered, and brought down into the low valley, into the fresh pastures of life, where you may feed with God's Babes and Lambs, and lie down in the sold of rest and peace, that you might find bread in your own houses, and water in your cisterns, the oil in the Cruse that will not fail, but will satisfy your souls in drought, and make fat your bones, that you might become like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. Take this as a Salutation of the love and goodwill of my soul to you, who am a friend to all people; one that owns and desires to tender, nourish & strengthen the least appearance of God in any; A lover of honesty and uprightness in whomsoever I find it; but a hater of hypocrisy and deceit: A Traveller in the womb of supplication for the restoring and gathering in of the scattered sheep, and bringing home the dispersed of the Fold, that all may know one sheep-fold, and one shepherd. From one of the least amongst many of the chosen Generation and peculiar people of God, (called Quakers) whose earthen vessel is know by this Name, WILLIAM BENNIT. Postscript. DEar People, you in whose hearts there is some tenderness and conscienciousness towards the Lord God, if you, because of by-ends, and self-interests, and through letting in (by your reasoning and consulting with flesh and blood) the slavish fear of man (whose breath is in his Nostrils, and can but (if by God permitted) kill the body) doth consent, and condescend thereby (for to save yourselves from, or out of sufferings, either by body or estate) to do and join with that which you are really persuaded in your hearts is quite contrary to the mind and will of God, and so knows it to be evil, and also contrary to your own Consciences; hereby, in so doing, you may engage the Lord God against you, (in your fearing man more than God▪ and come to lose your tenderness and conscienciousness to God-ward, and so hardness of heart may come upon you, and so you wholly die and whither away (as to all tenderness and conscienciousness towards God) even as grass upon the house top. But you dear people, in whom there is tenderness and conscienciousness towards the Lord God, if you be faithful to the Lord in your not joining with, nor consenting to do the thing (for any by-ends, or private interests whatsoever, although it be set up and tolerated, and compelled to be done by a Law from man) which you are in your hearts truly and really persuaded is evil, and contrary to the mind and will of God, and also contrary to your own Consciences; but rather are willing to expose yourselves to suffer whatever the Lord God of Almighty power, and everlasting strength, (before whose Eternal Almightiness, and Everlasting Powerfulness, all the strength, and power of the Arm of flesh, is even like a puff of smoke before a mighty wind) shall suffer man, who to day is, and to morrow is not) to inflict upon you; you hereby will even engage the Lord God of everlasting bowels, of infinite compassion, (who is and will be a strength to the poor, feeble, weak and need●, a shadow unto them from the heat, a refuge unto them from the storm, when the blast of the terrible One come upon them like an overflowing flood) to stand for you, and to help you in your need, and in your greatest straits; when you (as Peter) are ready to cry, Help, Lord, I sink; to appear to and for you in the greatest measure of his love, who right well knows what you have need of, to minister strength unto you proportionable to your trials: And hereby dear people ●our tenderness and conscientiousness may daily increase, and you come to make conscience of that which you have not made conscience of, and then you may come to find and witness that this day of trials, sufferings and tribulations is a blessed day to you, and turneth▪ through the mercy and loving kindness of the Lord towards you) for your good, so that you may come to bless and praise his name for it, unto whom be praise and glory for evermore; But a woeful day to Hypocrites, who hath gotten on a garment of profession of God and Christ, &c▪ for a cloak to cover their unrighteousness and deceit; an unwelcome day to them, a terrible day to them, for it will slain their crowns, and mar their beauty, and subdue their strength, and slay their power, and pull down their strong holds, rip off their sheep's clothing, pull down their gay Tombs and painted Sepulchers, and their rottenness stink, and nakedness will appear. So be it, so be it, Amen saith my soul. For Friends of Truth in the Town of Yar●outh. DEar Friends, whom the Lord God Almighty hath visited in his endless unchangeable Love; even in his making known, and manifesting in and unto your souls his pure precious Truth, whereof he hath in measure made you partakers, with his dear Children and Witnesses of, in your measures, blessed be his Name, who hath raised you up to bear a Testimony for him and his Truth which you profess; who also hath enabled you through the power of his Love thereunto, in this the day of your trial in that great Town. And my dear Friends, my soul earnestly desires that you all may dwell and abide, in the remembrance and living sense of the lovingkindness of the Lord towards you, in his freely making known his Truth unto you, that indeed the sense of his Love, may bind your hearts and souls to be faithful unto the Lord, and his truth which you profess, in still bearing your Testimony for the same, in this the day of trial, standing as noble faithful witnesses for the Truth, every one of you in your measures, amongst that hard hearted and crooked Generation, in the midst of whom my dear friends, you in the Light may shine as Lights, in the blameless Life, and unreprovable Conversation, even to the praise of the Lord God, and to the honour of his truth which you profess. Now, dear friends, the Lord hath caused you hitherto, to bear a testimony for him, and against that wicked spirit of Persecution, which would limit the Lord in his people; in this particular fix in your meeting and assembling yourselves together in his fear, to wait upon him, and to worship him in spirit and in truth, though it hath been though Sufferings. And dear friends, in the meekness of love unfeigned; I Cry unto you, saying, oh, do not grow faint, nor weary of bearing your testimony still for the truth and worship of God, in your meeting together in his name; for dear Friends, wherein can we (in one particular exercise of the spirit of truth) bear a larger testimony for the truth, then in our meeting and assembling ourselves together in the truth, to worship the God of truth, in the spirit of truth, seeing that this is the thing (above many) which the wicked spirit of persecution, doth so eagerly, and so highly oppose, and so eanestly seek, and so greatly endeavour, to deprive us of, and confine us from; wherefore dear Friends, I cannot but in the Love and Zeal of the truth, exhort you all, not to neglect meeting together in the fear of God, so long as the Lord permit you Liberty so to do. And oh, let not the smallness of your number (you little Flock, who are hated and rejected by the world) be any discouragement to you in this matter; but oh, rather be you encouraged thereby, in the strength of the Lord, in love to his truth, to bear up your testimony, (in that great Town, in the midst of so many Persecutors) faithfully in your measures, even to the honour of the Lord & his truth. My dear friends, let me say again, neglect not meeting together, through giving way to the slothful careless spirit, or through letting in the fear of man into your hearts, for indeed, my dear friends, although you be a poor small Remnant, for whom my soul traveleth with the Lord for your preservation, yet behold, as you keep your meetings in the fear and name of the Lord, you will feel and enjoy his living presence in and amongst you, which will make your meetings profitable unto you. And dear Babes, in stillness, quietness, in peace, patience, and contentedness possess your souls, in the dominion of truth to reign over all those thoughts, reasonings and consultings, which the Enemy of your souls would infuse into your minds, whereby he would raise trouble and tumult in your hearts, and bring faintness and weakness upon you. And dear Friends, lend not an ear to listen after the rumours and reports of the world, nor heed not the boasting of the wicked, neither regard the threatening of truths Enemies; but dear Babes, continually lend an ear unto the Lord, and hearken you unto his Counsel, and have continual regard unto him in your hearts, and wait to feel his presence with you continually, and know your unity with him; and every particular one feel and find in yourselves, that the Lord God almighty is on your sides; and then, my dear Friends, you need not matter who are against you, if the Lord be for you; so dear Lambs, be faithful to the Lord, and to his truth in your measures; and be not Discouraged nor Daunted, (through the sense of the rage, wroth and bitterness of your Enemies, and through the feeling of your own weakness and feebleness) but trust ye in the Lord, and hope ye in his tender bowels, which are opened with groan of compassion towards his poor afflicted suffering people, who is, and yet will be, a strength to the poor and needy, a refuge unto them from the storm, and a shadow unto them from the heat, a helper in the time of need, a Deliverer out of trouble in the greatest straits; who will appear to help his helpless ones, wh● have no other helper but the Lord. So, the Lord God almighty be with you, and gird up your loins with Courage, Boldness, Strength and Valour, and spread upon you the mantle of faithfulness, and cause you to persevere on in the perpetual patience, and to abide in the continual content, therein to run the race that is set before you, which you have begun: And the Lord almighty of heaven and of earth, for his own seeds sake, keep you from fainting by the way, and carry you through all whatever either outwardly or inwardly you do, or may meet withal, and keep you, and preserve you unto the end, that in the end, dear Lambs, we may lay down our heads together, in the sweet bosom of the Lord God of everlasting rest, peace and quietness, in whose sweet, meek, heavenly, humbling, melting love, my soul dearly salutes you all, and commits you all unto the Lord God almighty. Farewell, dear Friends, Dwell together in that love which thinks no evil, therein forgiving and forbearing one another, even as the tender God of bowels hath forgiven you, and born with you day after day, and time after time; and dwell all in the meek spirit of self-denial, keeping the unity in the spirit, in the bond of peace. Norwich-Castle the 3 d Month, 1664. Your tender Friend and Brother, WILLIAM BENNIT. God only Exalted in his own Work; OR, THE Works of God Praiseth him in Zion. OR, A Song of Deliverance from a great and sore Captivity, Thraldom and Bondage, under the King of Egyptian Darkness, the God of the World, where the Soul was fast bound, as with strong Chains and Fetters; but now Ransomed (by the outstretched Arm of God's Almighty Power) and art come to Zion with Songs of everlasting Joy upon thy head, and hast obtained joy and gladness, and thy sighing and mourning is fled away: witnessed unto, and experienced in that Vessel, whose earthly Tabernacle bears the name of William Bennit. Published in singleness and uprightness of heart (from a constraint of God's Love) to all those who are yet groaning and panting after the Lord in truth and sincerity, that they may meet with some refreshment and encouragement in their Journey and Travels towards the Land of Rest and Peace. OH! oh my soul, my soul, what hath the Lord, even the Lord thy God done for thee? oh! what hath he done for thee, oh my soul! oh my soul, a little while sit down in thy secret Chamber of rest and quietness, and there oh my soul! a little meditate of the most excellent lovingkindness of the Lord, thy tender compassionate God of infinite bowels, which he hath manifested to thee, oh my soul! of things past, present, and to come; that so the perfect sense of the love, mercy, pity, kindness, tenderness, and compassion of the Lord, thy tender God, may always rest in and upon thee, oh my soul! That oh my soul! through the sense, feeling, and true remembrance thereof, thou mayst be, O blessed God, praised, glorified, and magnified, reverenced, and honoured, even the holy, powerful, eternal, wonderful, everlasting Name of the Lord God Almighty, who inhabiteth Eternity, who lives for ever and for evermore; and bound thereby to a bountiful, kind, loving, tender, pitiful, merciful, compassionate God towards all souls; in the measure of God, thy God, who hath abounded in loving kindness towards thee, oh my soul! Oh! oh my soul, my soul, remember thou wert once a prisoner in the prison house of darkness, strongly bound in chains and fetters, a slave and a captive in the Land of Egypt, under the servitude and slavery of the Prince and power of darkness, the god of the world, the king of Egypt: and under thy hard bondage, and deplorable thraldom and miserable captivity, oh my soul! thou wert made in secret to cry and groan, under thy burdens unto the Lord thy tender God, whose bowels, whose tender bowels of infinite pity and unsathomable compassion did (in mercy to thee) hover over thee, even in that thy sad miserable deplorable state; first made thee sensible of thy sad captivity, and so in the sense thereof, and in the sense of thy own helplessness, how didst thou cry, cry unto the Lord God of pity for help, and groan unto him for deliverance, oh my soul! and the Lord who opened thine eye, and gave thee a glimpse of thy sad estate, did hear thy groan, and thy cries, and (for his own Seeds sake) set himself, by the outstretched Arm of his power, to deliver thee out of thy sad captivity, in which thou were, without help of thy own, and there must abode, had not the Lord God of everlasting unfathomable bowels of pity had mercy upon thee, oh my soul! Oh, oh! oh my soul, my soul, the remembrance of the tender love, the tender pity, the tender mercy, of thy tender pitiful God: how can it but even rend thy bowels even from top to bottom, oh my soul; and remember, oh my soul! how the Lord God Almighty, through his sore plagues and righteous judgements executed upon Pharaoh the King of Egypt, under whom thou wert a slave, by an outstretched and a mighty power, by the slaying with the sword of his vengeance the firstborn of Egypt, brought thee out of the prisonhouse, who broke thy chains in pieces, and snapped thy bonds asunder, and brought thee out of Egypt, and set thy face toward Canaan, the good Land that floweth with milk and honey. And remember, oh my soul! how wonderfully the Lord God, who by his mighty power and outstretched arm brought thee out of Egypt, preserved thee and upheld thee in thy long journey unto Canaan, thy tedious way and passage through the sea and wilderness, how gently did he lead thee, as a tender nursing Father, and carried thee as in his arms, and bore with thee in his mercy towards thee, when thou sometimes murmured against him, because of the length and straightness of the way that he led thee in, and because of the enemies thou hadst to encounter with by the way, insomuch that thou sometimes backslided in thy heart towards Egypt, and lusted after the fleshpots thereof, and murmured against the Lord, who so led thee about in such a cross knotty way, to that part, in the which through the cross, straightness and length of the way, was to die, pine, and whither, and be worn away, and fall in the wilderness, and not enter into the holy Land, and yet the Lord thy tende● God, who did corre●● thee through his righteous 〈◊〉; and as a tender, hea●●ed Father did chastise thee fo● 〈…〉, complain●ngs, a●● murmurs against him, and 〈…〉 backsliding towar●● Egypt, did not destroy thee, but bear with thy weaknesses and infirmities, and nourished thee and cherished thee day by day, and as a tender hearted Mother nurseth the only tender babe of her womb; who led thee by a pillar of a cloud by day, which was a shadow unto thee from the heat, and a pillar of fire by night, which gave thee light by night, when the Sun was under the earth: who when thou wert an hungry, he gave thee bread from heaven day by day, fresh Manna morning by morning compassed about thy tent, and gave thee water out of the rock to satisfy thy thirst; yea, oh my soul great, greatly hath the mercy, love, pity and compassion of the Lord thy tender God been manifested towards thee: how did he fight for thee, and subdue thy enemies before thee, and made way for thy passage! yea, remember, remember oh my soul! oh my soul! how that after he had brought thee out of Egypt by his out-strctched arm, and mighty wonderful power, how mightily and wonderfully did he appear for thee, to help thee in thy time of great need, and extreme distress, and great trouble, even when Pharaoh and his great host followed hard after thee, and pursued strongly to overtake thee, and bring thee back again into Egypt under his slavery and servitude And when Pharaoh and his host followed so close after thee and the Sea, the great Sea, was before thee, and mountains on each side of thee, how great was the strait thou wert in, and the trouble and sorrow that compassed thee about, oh my soul! that thou wert even at thy wit's end. And oh! oh my soul, my soul, in this time of thy greatest strait and trouble (●ven when thou wert without help of thy own) thou criest unto the Lord thy God, who gave thee some glimpse of comfort, saying, he would fight for thee, and thou shouldst be still, and hold thy peace; and so he by his mighty power made hard things to become easy unto thee, and that which appeared as a thing impossible unto thee, he (by his power) made it become possible unto thee. Remember, oh my soul, how he made a way for thee to pass through the Sea, and divided the waters thereof hither and thither, and by his mighty power carried thee through the Sea, and Pharaoh and his host he utterly destroyed in his wrath, and delivered thee, oh my soul, out of his hand, and destroyed them who would have destroyed thee, and gave thee dominion over them that had dominion over thee, and thou sawest them lie dead as by the Sea shore; glory, glory, glory, ah! glory, glory, and pure praises, praises to God, to the Lord God, even thy God, oh my soul! and now, oh my soul, thou canst sing a song of deliverance, a song of victory and triumph, and go into the Sanctuary of God, to the Altar of God, thy God, even God, thy exceeding joy; ah! and upon the Harp thou canst praise God, the Lord thy God, thy delight and joy. Oh! oh my soul, my soul, thou in the lowly fear and holy dread of the Lord thy tender God, and in truth and righteousness livingly and experimentally canst say, the Lord my God is my strength and my song, he also is become my salvation, he is my Rock and strong Tower, his work is perfect, a God, the God of truth and righteousness, just and right he is, the holy one whose dwelling is on high, in the holy place, and with him also who is of a poor, and a meek, and a contrite spirit, and that trembleth before his Holiness, and fears and dreads before his dreadful Name: ah! ah thy right hand O Lord, thy right hand, O Lord God of power, is become glorious in power, is become mighty in power, thy right hand O Lord God Almighty, hath dashed in pieces mine enemies by the greatness, O Lord my God, by the greatness of thy; wonderful excellency, thou hast O Lord confounded them that risen up against me; thou lettest forth thy wrath and consumed them as stubble before a mighty fire, thou lettest forth the breath of thy fury, and blew upon them, and scattered them as chaff before a mighty wind: Oh! oh who can stand before thy indignation, thy dreadful indignation? who can abide the extreme fierceness of thy anger? thy fury is poured forth like fire, thou breakest the r●cks in pieces, the mountains tremble before thee the mighty God; thou utterest thy voice, and the Heathen tremble, thou roarest, and the Kingdoms are moved, and the earth melteth at the appearance of thy presence, who cometh with fire, and thy Chariots like a whirlwind; thou renderest thy anger with fury, and thy rebukes with flames of fire: thou hast thy way in the whirlwinds, and the Clouds are as the dust of thy feet. Thou art the mighty God, who can but fear before thee, and tremble at thy eternal presence? thou roarest out of thy Zion, and utterest thy voice from thy Jerusalem, and the Inhabitants of the earth tremble thereat; but still thou art the hope of thy People, and the strength of thy ransomed ones, their strong Tower, their present Helper in the time of trouble. Wherefore, I'll not fear though the Earth be removed and carried into the midst of the Sea, and though the Sea roar and be terrible, and the Mountains shake with the swell thereof, and the Hills fly before it; though the tall Cedars of Lebanon fall, and the strong Oaks of Bashan bend before it, yet I will not fear, the Lord is with me, and he will not forsake me, but he will help me, and that right early. Wherefore I will only fear before the Lord, before the Lord my God, the mighty eternal God of mighty eternal Power, who measureth out the Heavens as with a span, and measureth the waters of the Seas in the hollow of his hand; who comprehendeth the dust of the Earth in a measure, & weigheth the Mountains as in scales, and the Hills as in a balance; who taketh up the Islands as a very little thing; before whose face the Heavens and the Earth flee away, and behold there appeareth no more Sea. Oh! who can but fear before thee, O Lord my God? the enemy said, I'll pursue, I'll overtake, I'll not spare, my lusts shall be satisfied on him. But O Lord, O Lord God, my God, thou wert my God, near to help in the time of need, and in the time of greatest need appeared, appeared in the greatest power of love. O Lord, thou blew upon them, and the Sea covered them, and they sunk as Led in the bottom of the mighty Waters. O Lord, O Lord God, who is like unto thee? who amongst the gods is like unto thee the only God, who art dreadful in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Oh! let the people hear and be afraid, and the Dukes of Edom be amazed, and let trembling take hold of the mighty men of Moab; oh! who can but fear before thee, O Lord my God. Thou hast redeemed me, and led me forth in thy power, and guided me in thy strength, unto thy holy habitation; thou wilt bring me in, and plant me in the mountain of thy Inheritance, in thy Sanctuary O Lord, which thy hands have established, wherein I shall live with thee, O Lord my God for ever: Ah, glory, glory, glory unto thee O Lord God my God. The Lord is a man of war, the Lord of Host is his name; Pharaoh and his mighty men hath he drowned in the Sea, but he hath saved thee, oh my soul! So Lord let thine enemies perish, but let them that hope in thy mercy live for ever, to declare thy wonders, and magnify thy name in the land of the living. Ah! glory, glory, ah glory, glory to God, the mighty God; ah! praises, praises, honour and thanksgiving unto thee, O Lord my God, who lives for ever and for evermore. Amen. Oh! oh what is this what is this that the Lord thy tender God of infinite bowels of pity hath done for thee, oh my soul? thou wert a slave in the Land of Egypt, and the Lord hath redeemed thee, oh my soul! thou wert in darkness, and the Lord hath given thee light; and thou wert under the region and shadow of death, and he hath brought thee forth in the to Land of life. Thou wert in the prison, shut up in the prisonhouse, bound up with chains and fetters, in the low dungeon of darkness, and he hath broken thy chains, and snapped thy fetters asunder, and loosed thy bonds, and broke up the prison door, and pulled down the prison house, and set thee free oh my soul! Oh my soul, my soul! thou wert a captive in the Land of Babylon, estranged from the Commonwealth of Israel, and an Alien from Zion, sitting sorrowful and solitary by the River of Babylon in the Land of Captivity, mourning when thou thoughst upon Zion, for thou wert a Captive in a strange Land, and sorrow (through the sense of thy woeful Captivity and Alienation from thy native Land) compassed thee about, and trouble on every hand; tears was thy drink, daily sorrow thy meat, and groans and sighs thy greatest joy; thou goest bowed down all the day long with an heart aching, and thine eyes dropping with tears, because of the oppressions of thine enemies, and burdens of thine oppressors; and at the remembrance of Zion (and in the sense of thy separation from her) thou didst pant, oh my soul! thou didst pant after Zion, the Land of thy nativity; Oh! as the Hart pants after the water brooks, crying in the anguish of thy sorrow; how long Lord, how long shall I be a captive in a strange Land? with longing d●sires in thy heart after Zion: thinking in thy heart, oh! when shall I walk with the ransomed of the Lord upon the Mountain of Zion, and travel with the Lords redeemed in the streets of Jerusalem; and in that day, oh my soul! the Lord for his own Seeds sake had regard unto thy cries, and thy tears and sorrows was not hid from the view of his tender pitiful eye, and in tender mercy and bowels of compassion towards thee: he, through his free love unto thee, brought thee forth out of Babylon, the Land of thy captivity, and set thy face towards Zion thy desired rest, oh, my soul. But oh! oh my soul, how oft wert thou bewildered in thy going, even after thy face was turned towards Zion travelling thitherward; saying in thy heart, oh! I will go join myself unto Zion in a perpetual Covenant which shall never be broken, losing thy way, some times wandering as it were in the wilderness, in the deserts and solitary places, hungry and thirsty, my soul even fainting with weakness, and then didst thou cry unto the Lord in thy distress, and he helped thee out of all thy troubles, he took thee by the right hand, and brought thee into the right way in which thou mightest come to thy desired rest, oh my soul! And now, oh my soul, thou art come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon thy head, and thou hast obtained joy and gladness, and thy sighing and mourning is fled away. And now, oh my soul! thou that wert in a desert doth rejoice, and as a wilderness are made glad, and as a solitary Place doth blosom as a Rose, as a dry heath, now as a fruitful valley, as the parched ground, now as the moist mould that drinketh in the rain that comes upon it. Now, oh my soul! thou in truth canst say the wilderness doth rejoice; and the desert and solitary place is made glad, and blossom as a Rose; water comes forth out of the wilderness, and streams in the desert, the parched ground is become a pool, and the dry heath springs of water; now the mourner rejoices, and the heavy hearted is made glad, and beauty is giving in stead of ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; now, oh my soul! is thy horn exalted in the Lord in whom thy mouth is enlarged over thy enemies: ah! the Lord maketh rich, and he maketh poor; he woundeth, and he maketh whole; he killeth, and he maketh alive; he bringeth down, and he raiseth up; he raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and the beggar from off the dunghill, and setteth them among Princes, and causeth them to inherit the seat of Glory. Yea, the full he emptieth, that they hire themselves out for bread, and they that were hungry and empty he filleth with good things: yea, the barren he causeth to bear seven, and she that hath had many children is waxed feeble: this is the Lords doing, and it is morvellous in thy eyes, oh my soul! Oh! my soul, my soul, thou canst in truth say, thy winter is (in measure) over and gone, and the stormy wind is fled away, and the cold parching frosts are dissolved, and the spring and summer is come, and the Sun with its warm beams breaks forth, and the gentle showers descends, and the time of the singing of birds is come, and the turtle is heard in thy land, oh my soul▪ and the vine putteth forth her tender grapes, and the figtree with her pleasant figs give a goodly smell. And now oh! my soul, thou canst set under thy vine, and under thy figtree with thy beloved: and who shall make thee afraid, with whom thou canst walk into his pleasant garden of delights, among t●● beds of spices, and feed among the lilies, and there solace thyself in the bosom of his love. For, oh my soul, oh my soul! there was a time when thou oh my soul! hadst lost thy beloved, and thou soughtst him by night upon thy bed, and in the broad ways, but thou foundst him not; and therefore sorrow compassed thee as a wall about, and mourning covered thee as a garment, and thou couldst have no rest, until thou hadst found thy beloved, crying fiercely in thy heart, saying in thy ardent desires after him, oh▪ oh thou art hid from me as in the cliffs of the rocks, and as in the secret places of the stairs: let me see thy countenance, and let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely; and when he did sometimes show himself unto thee behind the wall, or as through a lattice, and put his fingers in by the hole of the door, thy bowels were moved for him. But now, oh my soul! thou dost enjoy his presence, which is sweet and pleasant to thee, he is as a bundle of myrrh, he is thy joy, thou sits under his shadow with great delight; for he is a bower of spices unto thee, and his fruit is sweet to thy taste, he hath brought thee into his banqueting house, where his banner over thee is love, where he comforteth thee with the flagons of his love, he causeth thee to drink of his spiced wine, which is as the liquor of life, and the juice of his pomegranates, which is as honey to thy taste. Oh my soul! he filleth thee with good things, that so thou mightest become as a watered garden, and as a spring of water, whose water fails not; that thy bones might flourish as an herb, and thy kidneys be covered with fatness and thy belly become as an oily Brook: thus hath the Lord thy tender God, thy merciful God, oh my soul! set thee free from the yoke of bondage. And now, oh my soul! rejoice in fear and trembling, and dread and fear continually in the holy presence of the Lord thy God, and watch, watch, watch, oh my soul! diligently watch in the lowly fear and godly jealousy over thy own heart, trembling in thy bowels, lest thou, oh my soul! in the joy (the great joy) in the sense of what the Lord hath done for thee (and in a sight of thy good state thou art advanced to) should be lifted up above what is meet, and thereby come to lo●s and a fall; wherefore, oh my soul, to prevent such mishaps coming unto thee unawares, keep thee watchful and low in fear, and humble and contrite in heart, and meek and chaste in mind, tender and broken in bowels, poor and needy in spirit, waiting and depending upon the mere preserving grace of the merciful hand of thy merciful, pitiful compassionate God of infinite loving kindness; that whatever thou dost or suffers (through his strength) for him, thou mayst not be (in the degree) exalted above him, but still keeping low in him, dwelling beneath him, at his footstool: and whatever thou receivest from him, when he calls for it, return it back to him; and be nothing without him but what thou art in him alone, knowing that what thou art it is by him, and what thou hast it cometh from him. Therefore be nothing without him, and return his own to him, for he is worthy that his own should praise him. And in the belly of a humble, lowly, broken, contrite spirit dwell, oh my soul! where thou mayst serve God with thy tears, dwelling in the sense of the freeness of his love and mercy in what he hath done for thee, that the remembrance thereof may rend thy bowels before him, passing thy pilgrimage here in fear and trembling before the Lord thy God, unto whom, unto whom, unto whom be glory, glory, glory, praises, praises, praises, thanksgiving, honour, and eternal renown, be rendered unto his eternal name, who is blessed, blessed, blessed for ever and ever. Amen, Amen. hallelujah in the highest, Amen. glory, glory, ah glory; hallelujah in the highest, Amen, Amen, saith my soul. Oh my soul! where didst thou begin, but in the sense of God's dear, tender, precious, most excellent love: stirring in thy heart, and there must thou end, and rest satisfied, and lay thee down quiet in peace with Gods most dear Babes, and tender innocent Lambs, unto whom thou cleavest as flesh to their bones, towards whom thy bowels, thy bowels, thy tender bowels do unspeakably yearn, with secret pant in thy inward parts, through the weight of love that abides in and upon thee, oh my soul, my soul, my soul. William Bennit. To God's Lambs in Prison Greeting. DEar Friends and suffering Lambs, shut up together in nasty holes; oh you dear Suffering, Tribulated, Conscientious ones of the tender God of love, life and power; I whom am your dear and tender Friend and Companion, in th● pure patience and long suffering of the Seed incorruptible, do most dearly greet you, and entirely salute you, and sweetly embrace you, in the love of the Lord your God, who hath not only counted you worthy to believe in him the mighty God; but dear ones, he hath also counted you worthy to suffer for his holy name sake, because of your Faithfulness, and for your Obedience unto his most sweet excellent everlasting Truth; ah, dear Lambs, the witness hereof feel in yourselves, yea, I believe my dear Friends that you know, and feel the holy witness of the holy God of holiness in your own hearts, bearing a true testimony to your own souls; that your such confinment and sufferings is because of your obedience to the Lord your compassionate God of infinite bowels; wherefore ye Lambs, ye dear Lambs of the Lord God of power, in him be ye comforted in the midst of your sufferings for him, and be refreshed in the midst of your afflictions, and consolated in the midst of your tribulations, and be you made glad, and rejoice in the midst of your trials; even in the midst of all glorifying, praising and honouring your tender God, for his rich mercy towards you, to be partakers of the sufferings of his seed: oh, my dear Friends, my tender bowels, is at this time opened unto you, and my soul streams with streams of love, of dear entire love towards you, which f●oweth forth in the true sense and feeling, and simplicity that my soul hath of your sufferings: of which I partake in spirit, and in the sense of your Faithfulness, my soul is refreshed, and bound thereby to praise your God, and my God on your behalf. Dear Lambs, I believe that the sweet comfortable presence of the Lord God Almighty is with you, and doth so accompany you, as that your cup of sufferings is made sweet unto you, so as that you can drink it off with gladness; knowing and seeing; that it is the will of the Lord to permit it to be given unto you, whole will, and not your own, your innocent souls desire to do. Ah, dearly beloved Friends; what shall I say unto you, that ye might thereby be comforted, that my soul in the sense there of might be made glad; well dear Babes; the fountain and fullness of everlasting joy and gladness, is the bosom wherein you are to be wraped up, and to repose together for evermore, if you keep the faith to the end. The streams whereof I know do often refresh your souls, which overcomes you with its sweetness, and lifts you up above all your sufferings, and even make hard things become easy unto you. ●lory, glory, and pure praises (in spirit) be shouted out unto the mighty God of worm Jacob, the everlasting Jehovah of Israel; unto whom dearly and beloved Friends, I commit you all; most entirely and fervently desiring that he the only Lord, who is your tender God, may for his own seeds sake minister to all your necessities, and supply all your wants, and cause your strength, power, wisdom and love, with pure patience, content and long suffering; in him to abound daily more and more, Amen saith my tender soul. So, dear ones, read and savour my love in the Word, which is more precious than all words whatsoever; wherein dear Lambs, repose together, and the milk thereof, dear Babes suck and be refreshed thereby. Farewell dear Lambs, I am your dear Friend and Brother in the Lord. WILLIAM BENIT. To Friends in the Love of Truth Greeting. MY dear and tender beloved Friends, in the love of God, and in his pure precious everlasting Truth, whereof he hath (in the freeness of his pure grace and endless love) made us partakers with the rest of his dear Babes and Children; and whereof he hath made us witnesses in our measures, in this his blessed day spring from on high; which is come and coming, which is brook and breaking forth in great glory: so that its brightness shall reach unto the utmost dark corners of the Earth, even to the exstinguishing of the Night, and to the expelling the darkness which hath covered the Earth, and the gross darkness which covered the People. Ah, dear hearts, the blessed beams of the brightness of this blessed day spring from on high, hath reached unto our souls, which were once sealed up in the Darkness, under the shadow of the Night; and hath and doth shine in our hearts, giving of us the true knowledge of the true and living God, and thereby hath guided our feet (out of the crooked slippery paths of darkness wherein we once walked stumbling as the blind) into the paths of peace, even into the path of the just, which as a shining light shineth more and more until the perfect day, for which the Lord, our dear and tender God is worthy, worthy to receive pure living praises from the breath of his own life in our souls; who is worthy that his own should praise him, for its sacrifice is acceptable and pleasant unto him, who is God over all blessed for evermore. Dear hearts, in the true indearedness of the endeared love of the pure seed of life eternal, doth my soul dearly salute you, and embrace you in the bosom of innocency; in the which ●he Lord (in measure hath wrapped up my soul with ●our souls, dear Lambs, and with the rest of his faithful Babes) as in a mantle; wherein we are together, although absent from each other, and herein I rest and repose with you, who am your real Friend and tender Brother, in the heavenly relation which abides for ever. William Bennit. The 3 d month 1664. Dear Babes, dwell together in love, even in the pure innocent love of God which thinketh no evil, and therein bear with, and forbear, and forgive one another; even in that which keeps in the lowly fear, and preserves in the true humility, wherein none shall strive, except to be the most humblest and meekest in mind, and herein is the unity of the faith, and the bond of peace known and kept, which is exceeding comely amongst Brethren. To Friends of Truth. MY dear Friends, in the pure tender bowels of the endless ●ternal fountain of love, doth my soul, dear Lambs, dearly and tendorly salute you all; most endearedly and fervently desiring, that you may stand fast in the pure, precious, everlasting truth of the Lord God; in it so to live, walk and abide, as that you all keep your Garments clean and unspoted of the world, as pure wise Virgins indeed, who follow the Lamb whither-soever he goes. Dear Babes, hold fast your confidence in God, and let your hope in him be steadfast and constant, and in that Faith steadfastly abide; which hath been, and is, and will yet be your victory for ever, and crown of triumph eternally, if in it you abide to the end. Well, dear Lambs, I commend you unto the Lord God of everlasting strength and power, by him to be upheld and supported and carried through whatsoever trials and sufferings you do or may meet withal, either outwardly or inwardly; and by his power to be preserved sincere, upright and faithful to him in your measures, unto the end of your pilgrimage here; that so a noble, faithful, clear Testimony, you may bear for the Lord in this his day, to the praise of his glorious name, which is blessed for evermore. So the sweet, precious, refreshing, consolating, inlivening, strengthening, quickening, pure presence of the Lord God of Light, of Life, Love and Wisdom, be with you, in you, and among you all; even to the daily gladding of your hearts, and refreshing of your souls, and to the girding up of your loins with courage, patience, strength and boldness; in the God of your hope, to stand unto the end, Amen saith my soul. So dear Babes feel my love, in the innocent life of God; and therein dwell together, and I am with you; and therein I rest and remain, your dear Friend and tender Brother. The 6th month 1664. William Bennit. To Friends of Truth in Prison. Dear Friends. AH ye dear suffering Lambs, who are in outward bonds for the Lord, his Truth and Namesake, shut up and separated from your dear Friends and nearest Relations, because of your keeping your Consciences, void of offence towards the Lord God: dear Hearts, your cause is good for which you suffer, and the Lord God who is engaged for you, whom you love, and do manifest it unto the world, through your willingness to suffer for him (rather than to do that which you know is contrary unto his will; or forbear doing of that which he willeth you to do) well he will stand by you, and will not leave you in the time of your need; of his helping upholding power, as you abide Faithful unto him, in whose just cause you are engaged, and he will fully plead it, with his and your Adversaries, in his own time, to your joy and their torment, except they repent. Dear Lambs, my heart is even made glad, and my soul it doth rejoice, because of your Faithfulness to the Lord, in bearing your Testimony for his Name: Ah, the Lord God Almighty keep you faithful unto the end, that so you may not faint, nor grow weary, before your Testimony for the Lord be finished; that so you may not fall short of the Crown, which is laid up for you if ye abide to the end, even a full recompense of reward for all your sufferings and afflictions, you do or may meet with for your faithfulness unto him the living God; in whose pure bowels, of most endeared, entire, unfeigned love, doth my soul very dearly salute you, dear hearts; unto whom I commend you, whose pure, quickening, holy, heavenly presence, I desire may be abundantly with you daily, for the keeping of you all in pure patience and contentedness, and in a true submission to his heavenly will, that his joy, comfort and consolation, and sweet peace may abound in and unto your souls; to the bearing of you up above all trials that you do meet withal, that you may not sink under them, and that over the temptations of your Adversaries within and without, you may Reign and be made more than Conquerors, through the Lord who hath loved you, and counted you worthy to believe in his Name and Truth, and to suffer for the same. Oh, the Lord my God, even your dear and tender God, keep you low in his holy fear, and very watchful and diligent in his pure Light, having your minds exercised therein, and girded thereby unto the Lord; that so indeed, dear Hearts, you may learn much by these your trials and sufferings, even to your comfort and joy in God, feeling indeed that the Lord doth cause these your sufferings to work together for your good, that so you indeed, dear Lambs, may find cause thereby, the more to praise and glorify the name of the Lord, and to make mention of his goodness and mercies, and to magnify his name in the land of the living; unto whom be glory and praise for ever and evermore. Dear Lambs, receive these few lines, as a token of the true love of my soul to you in the Lord; in whom my love is right dear unto all his faithful ones. Farewell, dear Friends, in the Lord, in whose innocent life, I am your Friend and Companion, in the patience and long suffering of the Lamb. Norwich Castle the 7th month 1664. William Bennit. To the suffering Lambs, of the Lords Flock in Prison Greeting. DEar suffering tribulated Lambs of my Maker; ah dearly beloved Friends, the tender unfeigned salutation of my soul reacheth unto you, in the unchangeable Love, of the unchangeable Truth, of the living unchangeable God; whereof he hath made us partakers, and of which he hath made us witnesses, and for which he hath (through his love his constraining, overcoming, powerful Love) made us willing to suffer, and to part with, and be separated from our dea●●st Friend's and near●st Relations; and to be willing to endure, and ●o pass through what ever sufferings the Lord our God shall permit to be infflicted upon us, rather than (for any by ●●ds and self-interest) to condecend to do that thing willingly, which we know ●ould cause God's Truth to suffer, his holy Name to be dishonoured, his holy Spirit to be grieved, and our Consciences to be defiled thereby; ah in this frame of spirit & free given up state, the Lord God of power keep us by his power (with the rest of his dear innocent suffering Lambs elsewhere) for his own namesake, even unto the end, until our Testimony for the Lord, which he in his beloved Son hath counted us worthy to bear, in this his day, be finished to the praise glory and renown of his holy powerful name, and to the everlasting Joy, and eternal Peace of our immortal souls, Amen, saith my soul, which doth fervently desire, dear suffering Lambs, that the holy living presence of my God, may be in, with, and amongst you all, to your Joy and Comfort, and that his power may uphold you, and that his strength may support you, and keep up your heads above all your sufferings and trials; that so none may grow weary nor faint in your minds, but you may be made strong in the Lord, and be able in the power of his might, to resist, thresh, hammer and beat down every thought, and all carnal reasonings and fleshly consultings, that your Enemy and Adversary in your own hearts would infuse into your minds; which indeed if entertained, how soon may they who are strong thereby become weak, and they who witness freedom be brought again into bondage, and be again caught in the Serpent's snares, ho is exceeding busy within, as well as without seeking daily whom he may devour and betray of the simplicity of truth, and draw back again unto himself? Dear Lambs, you are in measure acquainted with his subtlety, yea, blessed be the Lord who hath opened your eyes, and you see him and his temptations, and crafty allurements; and not only so, but you know how to escape them, so as not to be overcome by t●em, but resist them, & overcome him and his temptations, through the strength of the Lord, who hath called and redeemed you from under his power; yet not withstanding, my dear Friends, let me say unto you, in the brotherly love, and tenderness of my soul, watch and keep close unto the Lord in your own hearts, that unto him you may be kept faithful unto the very end; who will make way for your deliverance, in his own time and season, and he will plead your righteous cause with his and your Adversaries, in his season, to your Joy, and their Sorrow. Wherefore wholly commit your cause unto the Lord your God, who watcheth over you, and careth for you, and will never leave you, but will stand by you, and help you in the needful time; even all you whose trust and hope is in him alone, and can use no other weapon to plead your cause with but the ●●rd of his mouth. So dear Lambs, in the pure patience and long suffering of the Lamb (our Captain and Leader, and Example, that meek one, who saith, love Enemies) possess your souls, and rest in stillness and peace, and quietness and contentedness in the Ark of safety, wh●ch the Lord hath prepared for his Family, to bear them up above the floods, until the waters abate, and dry land appear. So the Lord be with you all▪ and bundle you up together in his innocent love which thinketh no evil; therein to serve him with your whole hearts, and one an other with all self-denial; none to strive except to be most meekest and lowest in mind, so that you all way be tender affectionated one towards another, forgiving and forbearing one another in love; the strong bearing with the infirmities of the weak, that even as dear Children of one Father, you may dwell together in peace, and in pure unity in the spirit of holiness, that a Joy and a Comfort you may ●e to each other in the Lord, upon whom, dear Lambs, wait together very diligently, that of his fullness, you may all receive, who is ready bountifully to minister, that of himself unto all his tender Lambs and breathing Babes, who wait upon him, which he seethe is meet for them even to their daily nourishment joy comfort and refreshment. So in the pure bowels, and tender everlasting love of the tender God of compassion; doth my soul dearly salute you all, who loveth the Lord uprightly, and who make mention of his name in sincerity and truth, and are willing to suffer for the same, whether you be in bonds or out of bonds, my love reacheth unto all the upright in heart; Farewell dear Lambs. From your Friend and Companion in the patience and long suffering of the Lamb, who hath, must and shall have the victory over all his Enemies, to Triumph and Reign in Dominion Eternally. Norwich Castle 29th of the 7th Month 1664. William Bennit. This to go among Friends of Truth, to be read am●ng ●h●m when assembled together in the pure fear and dread of th● most H●gh God. DEarly and tenderly beloved Friends, the dear & tender unfeigned salutation of my tender soul, reaches unto you all, who loveth the Lord and his T●u●h with your whole hearts; and who make mention of his holy name in sincerity and truth; even in the meek, render, lowly, holy seed of eternal life, made manifest, quickened, and in measure raised up in my soul, even in this innocent seed of immortality doth the love of ●y soul extend towards you all; and I very dearly desire your prosperity and tranquillity therein, even as I do ●esire for my own soul, and tha● this lowly holy seed, and meek innocent life o● Jesus may daily spring grow up and flourish in every particular soul of you all; that so, though it was once the lest of all Seeds in you (even as a little grain of Musterd-Seed hid in the Earth) it may become the greatest the highest and strongest of all things in you; overpowering you and over-shadowing you, that so unto you it may become a pleasant Bower of spices, and as a sweet smelling savour, that you may even joy to sit under its shadow, even with great delight, & its fruit be exceeding sweet to your taste. Ah Babes, therein is Peace to be enjoyed, which is Eternal, which passeth all Understanding; therein is Joy unspeakable and full of glory to be enjoined; therein is Blessedness, which is everlasting; Happiness, which is endless, to be enjoyed, out of it there is none; Ah Lambs, therein is Power to be received, whereby to overcome him who hath the power of Death (to wit the Devil) and to break his Head, and withstand all his Temptations, and strong Assaults, and various Allurements, and many Enticements; and power therein to withstand, thresh, hammer and beat down all those Thoughts, Reasonings and Carnal Fleshly Consultations, which he (your greatest Enemy) would infuse into your Minds, and raise up in your Hearts, whereby to disturb and break your Peace, and raise Trouble, and Tumults, and Insurections in your Minds; that so Faintness and Weariness might come upon you, and he (your subtle Enemy) might thereby gain upon you, and get advantage of you, and obtain his purpose and desire, who indeed (as a roaring, raging devouring Lion) very eagerly seeks (in this day of great trial) whom he may Devour, and draw back again under his yoke of Bondage, Thraldom, and Slavery. Wherefore, dear tender Lambs, in the Seed, the Fold, out of which he is shut forever, in which he hath no part, daily dwell, and continually abide; then out of the paw of th● Devourer you shall be kept, by him that good Shepherd, who layeth down his Life for his Sheep, and leaveth them not when the Wolf cometh to destroy them; but he preserveth his Sheep and his Lambs, and hideth them as in the hollow of his hand. Ah how Tender, how Careful, how Pitiful, how Merciful, how Kind, how Loving, how Forbearing, how Forgiving, how Long-Suffering, how Patient, how Meek, how Humble and Compassionate, is the Nature of the tender God of infinite bowels. Ah dear Babes, let me say unto all, wait to feel and witness the nature of Emanuel, even the meek Life of Jesus to rule and dwell in you daily, and you to dwell and live daily in it. Ah his pure leaven of Life Eternal, oh how doth it work out the leaven of Death and Darkness, Malice and Enmity, and purgeth out every hard thought, and all evil surmisings, evil backbitings and whisper (which doth proceed from the old leaven, and are the fruits of that corrupt tree which is accursed by the Lord, and is to be hewn down, and with all its fruits cast into the fire forever to be consumed) and pu●te●● out the Eye which would be watching for Evil, and for the halting of others, and to spy out their weakness, and to tel● it abroad to their shame; oh how doth it oppose and hammer down that mind that would be great, and esteemed of by men, and would exercise Lordship over others. Oh how doth it baptise self into the Death, and b●ing down the Haughty to the Dust, and boweth down the Lofty, and raiseth up and bringeth forth a Birth, which striveth not fo● mastery, except to be most meekest and lowest in Heart and Mind; and to abound in Pity, in Love, in Tenderness, in ●owels of Compassion, in Patience, in Gentleness, in long-Suffering, in forbearing, and in Brotherly Kindness, yea in all the virtuous Fruits of the nature of him who is meek and low in Heart, who said, love Enemies; this Birth hath a hand ready to stretch forth unto the backward, to draw them forwards; it hath an arm ready to help to hold up the halting, and bosom open to carry the weak and faint ones in; oh it would, I know, be a help to all who stand in need of help, it would not that any should be left behind the Camp, who are willing to press forwards, although they may linger behind, by reason of their Halting and Lameness; oh how hath it a garment ready to cover an others weakness, it never overchargeth any, it judgeth not any thing before the time appointed, it is not Hasty nor Rash, but Patient and Gentle, and it hath a convincing restoring virtue with it in all it doth, so that it both Wounds and Heals, Kill and makes a Live, brings down and raiseth up, lay desolate, build and restore, it is tender and gentle, it breaks not the bruised Reed, neither doth it quench the smoking Flax, it never renders Evil for Evil, but overcomes the Evil with Good; its Patience overcomes Fury, its Love quencheth Enmity, its Gentleness overcomes Rashness, and its Meekness overcomes Haughtiness; and in all it Suffers it seeketh no Revenge, but beareth all things Patiently; committing its Cause unto him who judgeth Rightly; it loveth Enemies, it beareth love & goodwill unto all men, yet it hath no uni●y with any Uncleanness, nor fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness in any, but rather reproves them. This is not the Birth born of Flesh, nor of Blood, nor of the will of man, but the Birth born of God, and this Birth shall outlive all false Births and likenesses, and unto it must all bow an● become subject, this Birth God will crown with Honour and Renown, and beautify with Glory and Praise; and although it hath been trodden under foot and despised by other false Births, yet unto it they must all bow, and throw down their Crowns at thy feet, oh Zion. Ah the Lord, thy Husband, thy Maker, the God of Host is his Name, hath determined that the days of thy Mourning shall pass away, and the night of thy Sorrow shall for ever vanish, and thou shalt no more be termed Desolate, and Forsaken; oh thy Winter shall be over and gone, and thy Summer shall come, and thy Fruitfulness shall appear; Oh Zion, thou shalt appear as a Royal Diadim in the hand of the Lord, and as a Crown of Glory in the hand of thy God; who will make thee the Beauty of Nations, the Joy of Kingdoms, yea the Glory of the whole Earth, and a Praise therein forever, amen saith my soul. Oh hasten it, hasten it, Lord God Almighty, that so the Mourners in thy Zion may be Comforted, and the Hated be made right glad; that so even her waste places may Rejoice, and her Deserts blosom as a Rose; that her Wilderness may become as the Garden of Eden, and her Deserts as the Garden of the Lord; that so Joy and Gladness may alone be found in her, Thanksgiving and the voice of Melody; that so even Water may come forth of the Wilderness, and spring in the Desert; that the parched Ground may even become a Pool, and dry Heaths streams of Water. Ah, when the Lord hath wholly gathered together in one the dispersed of Judah, and hath brought into one, the scattered of Israel, and hath throughly returned the Captivity of his People; oh then surely Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel be right glad, and glory in his God, who is blessed forever and evermore. And so, dearly beloved Friends, my soul hath daily a remembrance of you in and unto the Lord, unto whom I leave you, dear Lambs, very dearly desiring that unto him you all (who hath in measure tasted of his Love, and of his pure precious Truth are made partakers, and thereunto have born witness, in doing and suffering for the same) may by him be kept faithful unto him, even unto the very end; that so the Testimony which he hath given you to bear for his Name & Truth (in this his day of sifting, winowing, purging, purifying, and of separating the Chaff from the Wheat, and of making up his precious Jewels, and of manifesting the approved in his sight) you may through the strength and mighty power of him the mighty God (who hath c●lled you and raised you up to war against Babylon, and no more to touch, but to bear witness against the unclean thing) be enabled to finish your Testimony for him (although it be with your Blood) even to the Praise, Glory and Renown of his eternal powerful Name, and to your endless Joy, and everlasting Peace in him, your tender God, in whose pure, tender & unseigned Love doth my soul kiss you, embrace you, clasp you about, saying in spirit, Oh the Lord, the mighty God, gird up your Loins with Courage, Strength and Valour daily, and speed over you all the mantle of Faithfulness, & keep you all in the pure patience, and sweet contentedness, and in true submission to his holy heavenly will, which is your Sanctification, whose will may be done in you all; that indeed the Power, the Glory, the Kingdom, and Dominion may be his, and he alone may Reign in you, whose right of due it is, who was Dead, and is a Live, and lives forever and evermore, unto whom be glory in the highest for evermore, Amen Oh, the holy living presence of the Living God of Holiness, be in, with and among you all; in whose Love, Life and Truth, in my measure, my soul is united, and closely cleaveth to all the Children of the most high God, and they are very dear unto the soul of him, who is your Friend, Brother and Companion, in the innocent Love and Life of God, over all blessed for evermore; farewel dear Lambs. 'tis 1665. William Bennit Dear Friend, IN that which is Eternal and unchangeable, doth the unfeigned Salutation and tender Love of my Soul extend towards thee, who art oft in the remembrance of my Soul, which is in some measure sensible of the many Troubles, Crosses and Trials, which thou hast been in, and now art exercised with; and truly, dear Heart, my soul desireth that th● Lord may enable thee to wade through them all, in the pure Patience and true Contentedness, and that thou mayst find the strong arm of God's mighty power in the beating down, & keeping ●nder that part, which would complain and murmur against the Lord, and count him a hard Master, and freet its self because the Wicked Flourish, and the Ungodly spread themselves like a green ●ay-Tree, and the workers of Iniquity are set up, ●n●●●e P●oud Lord it over the Meek of the Earth, and ●●ea● upon the Righteous as Di●t in the Streets, & Killed all the day 〈◊〉 a●d Oppressed like a Cart with Sheaves; I say needful it is to feel that part (which would freet itself because of th●se things) chained down by the Meek, Lowly, Lamb like, Patient, Peaceable Spirit of the patiented, pitiful, long-suffering God of Forbearance and Mercy; and to feel it curting and beating all Prejudice and Enmity, that would be springing up from the murmuring fretting part, against those who are instruments of Iniquity, and Servants to that Spirit, that Persecutes and Oppress the Innocent, and behold this Spirit of meekness keeps in coolness, gentleness and patience, and gi●●●h dominion over that Spirit which in haste (yet as it th●n●s in a Zeal for God) cries for Fire to come down from Heav●n to devour those who are Instruments of Cruelty, Iniquity, and Oppression; and indeed this Spirit of Love enableth to love Enemies, to Bless and Curse not, and seeks no Revenge, but makes willing to leave all to the Lord, unto whom, dear Heart, let us commit our Cause, and sure I am, he will plead it with his and our Enemies, in his own time even to their Destruction and Calamity, and to our Joy and Comfort in the end; in the mean while, the Lord keep us in contentedness, and in dominion over that Spirit that would limit God to man's time, and counteth that God is slack concerning his Promise, who indeed is not slack, as that Siprit counts slackness, but is a God long suffering, desiring not the Death nor Destruction of a Sinner, but that rather he may repent and Live Oh that all those that profess his Name may be with him, according to our measures, and growth in him the Living God, who is blessed forevermore. My dear tender hearted Friend, my Soul doth likewise desire fervently that thee and I, and all the rest of our heavenly Father's Family, may be kept close unto the measure of the free grace and love of the Lord God in our own hearts, that by it we may continually be kep● in the lowly fear, and pure awe of him, who hath called us out of Darkness into his marvellous Light, wherein let us watch carefully over our Thoughts, Words and Works, lest in haste, through carelessness, for want of watchfulness, we should speak or do any thing that may grieve the holy Seed, and wound the Just one in ourselves, and bring a burden and load upon our own Souls; wherefore dear Heart, I cannot but desire, that I with thee, and all who love Righteousness, may be kept watchful in the ●●wly Fear, close unto the grace that keeps humble, out of the many words, in the fewness of words, that so in sweet stillness, peace and quietness we may possess our sou●●, and enjoy the sweet incomes of the sweet Love, and sweet pure refreshing streams of the Fountain of Life according to our measures; that so even in the midst of our Trials and Sufferings, our heart's may be made glad in the Lord, and our souls may rejoice in him over all the Rage and Cruelty of the Wicked; that we may keep our standing on the Rock, against which Gog and Magog, and the whole Host of the powers of Darkness is not able to prevail; and herein the Lord keep us, saith my soul, for evermore. So dear Heart, I leave thee unto the Lord, in whom my Love is dear unto thee, and my Soul sympathize with thee in thy Trials and Sufferings, and desire the Lord may bear thee up above them all, in the bosom of his Love and Patience, and minister daily unto thee what he knoweth is meet for thee, and keep thee in a contentedness with his heavenly will, that so thou mayst say with thy whole heart, Lord, not my will, but thy will be done, and submitted unto in all things, whose will is our Sanctification. So, dear tender Heart, in the innocent Love which drew me forth to write these lines unto thee, I rest and remain thy dear Friend in the Truth. William Bennit. 1665. To the Magistrates of Edmondsbury. Friends, I hope your Nobility and Moderation will be so far made manifest, as to read over these following Lines with Patience; and I desire you may Seriously consider of them, and solidly to weigh them in that equal Balance, the Light of Christ in your Consciences, before you Judge of them. WE whom the World in scorn call Quakers, are a People that liveth in the pure fear of the Lord God, and without boasting we can truly say, we are a People who are led and guided by a peaceable Principle of Love, which we have received of God, who is the Fountain of Love, by which Principle of Love we are made to live peaceable with all men, as much as in us lies, and fervenly to desire and seek the good and welfare of all People, even from him who sits upon the earthly Throne, unto the most Inferior in the Kingdom, and by this Principle of Love in our own hearts, which is of God, we are made to bear Love and Good will towards all people, and by it we are taught to loy Enemies, to Bless and Curse not, to Pray for them who De spitefully useth us, and to do Good to them that Beateth us▪ and not in the least to render Evil for Evil, but endeavour to, overcome (in ourselves and others) Evil with Good, and by it we are preserved from joining with the spirit of Envy, and from being led by the spirit of Revenge, which ruleth in many, and leadeth into secret Plottings, and evil Contrivances, by way of Conspiring to raise Tumult and Insurrection, which spirit (with all its fruits) we deny and judge, and all those who are led by it to Contrive and Plot against any, or to seek the Destruction of any people, though our Enemies; such we disown, and their actions we defy, the Lord is our witness. And by the Principle of Love in our hearts, are our Consciences made very tender to God-ward, insomuch as that we would not willingly and knowingly sin against him, and are willing rather to suffer the loss of all External things, yea even Life and all, then to break our peace with God, which we value more than ten thousand Worlds; and because we endeavour (in the strength and power of the principle of love in our hearts) to keep our Consciences void of offence towards God; and because we dare not do those things (though they be set up by men, and tolerated and compelled to be done by a Law) which we are persuaded by the unerring spirit of Truth we ought not to do, neither join with any therein; and because we dare not forbear doing those things (though prohibited by the Laws of men there from) which we are persuaded by the spirit of Truth is our duty (towards God) to do and perform; therefore are we a suffering People this day, and for no other Cause, the Lord is our witness to the truth hereof. And ever since the Lord our dear and tender God (who alone hath been, and now is our Helper, Strength and Refuge, and hath stood by us, and supported, and preserved us, or else we had not been a People at this day) did raise us up to be a People, for to bear witness to his Way and Truth (and against the false Ways, evil Works, false Worships, Idolatry, Sin and Wickedness of the World) we have been a suffering People, and all along we have suffered by every Power that hath come up to Rule, and all along we have suffered for only our Consciences towards God; & if our Enemies have had no Law in force against us, neither could find any thing on our parts, whereby they might take a just occasion against us; then have they (as Daniel's Persecutors did against him, who sought his Destruction without a Cause given them by him) even made Laws on purpose to Ensnare us, and Trappan us concerning our Conscience towards God, for which we did suffer by the other Rulers, even many ways, viz. by Stocking, Stoning, cruel Whipping, Railing, Reviling and cruel Abuses; even Imprisonment until Death, and spoiling of Goods in a more abundant manner than I can relate; and all hath been for our Consciences to God, all which we have born, and waded through in Patience, through the strength of the upholding merciful Arm of our God, and by him have been kept from seeking Revenge upon our Enemies, but have committed our Cause to God, who Judgeth Righteously, and Justifieth those whom men Condemn, unto whom alone Vengeance belongs, and he will repay it, who will render unto man according to his Works. And even at this day, our Sufferings are greater than before, and now are we even as Sheep appointed for the Slaughter▪ and all is because we endeavour to keep our Consciences void of offence towards God; and because we dare not join with that Idolatrous Worship which God abhors, but must, as moved of the Lord, rather bear Testimony against Idolatrous Worships and Worshippers, whatever we suffer. And because we dare not Swore at all, knowing if we should Swear at all, we should then transgress the Commands of Christ, Matthew Chaper 5. Verse 34, etc. James Chapter 5. Verse 5, etc. And because we follow the practices of the Primitive Christians, and dear not forsake the Assembling of ourselves together, but must as we are taught of the Lord meet together, in the pure fear and dread of the Name of the Almighty God, even for no other end (the Lord who knoweth the secrets of all hearts is our witness) but to Wait upon the Lord, and to Pray to the Lord, and to Build up, Strengthen and Edify one another in the Lord, and to Serve and Worship God in Spirit and in Truth, wherein God, who is a Spirit, is only Worshipped aright, by his Spirituallized people, who are born of the Spirit, and guided and led by the Spirit of Truth into all Truth. And it is not in Rebellion and Contempt to King Charles and his Laws, that we meet together to worship God, neither do we do it in a Cross, Stubborn, Self-will, as by some we are charged, the Lord is our witness, but even in a Cross to our own wills, and in Obedience to the will of God; where fore we have peace in the Lord, for whose sake we suffer and stand justified in the sight of God, though by Men and their Laws counted Transgressor's. Now Friends, as your Moderation in measure hath appeared (in this day of hot Persecution and hath been manifested heretofore, towards the Lords tender Conscientious people in this Town, which I believe the Lord hath taken notice of, who hath regard unto those who have respect to his people; and truly it is my Souls desire, even for your own good, that your Moderation towards the people of God called Quakers, or any other people whose Consciences are tender to Godward, may continue still and increase more and more, so as that ye might not in the degree have a hand any more in the Sufferings of the Innocent, but might rather choose, as meek Moses did, to suffer Affliction with the Suffering, Abused, Tribulated, Afflicted People of God, then to be found Prosecutors of any unjust Law against them; for indeed, happy (in that particular) is the man that hath no hand in the sufferings of the Lords people, for sure I am the Lord God hath regard unto his people, though disregarded by such as know not God nor his People; and though Hated and Persecuted by the World, yet Loved of the Lord, and very dear unto him; and though Contemptible, Ridiculous and Absurd in the eyes of the wisemen of this World, yet Beautiful, Comely, Delectable and Precious in the eyes of the Lord; and what evil any do to them because of their Consciences towards God, the Lord takes it as done unto himself; and if one day it shall be said to those who did not Feed, Cloth and Visit the Lords tender ones in Prison, Go ye Cursed into Hell Fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels; then surely sad will be the Sentence of those who (through their Cruelty) go about to deprive them of Food and Raiment, and instead of visiting them in Prison, doth unjustly cast them into Prison, and hinder them that would visit them. Oh surely, the Lord God of Pity, of Mercy, of Compassion, and endless Love, hath seen the sufferings of his People in this Nation; and hath taken Cognizance of their sore Afflictions, and Tribulations, Burdens, and grievous Oppressions, under which they have long Groaned, whose Groans are come up before the Throne of the most high, and is entered into the Ears of their Compassionate God, and he is moved with infinite bowels of Love towards his suffering Seed, and he will plead the Cause of his own Elect which have long Cried unto him; whose Cries he the Living God hath heard, whose Cries he the Almighty God will answer, and will revenge their Cause upon the head of their Persecutors, and will Oppress the Oppressors, and Devour the Devourers of his People, even as Stubble before the Fire fully dry; and they shall not be able to escape the stroke of his Righteous Judgement, which he hath now begun to make manifest in the Earth, that the Inhabitants thereof might learn Righteousness; and the Besom of his Wrath is cleansing the Land of Evil Doers; and many of those who desired, and endeavoured, to have Banished the peoof the Lord from their native Country and lawful Habitations; such the Lord hath ●anished from their Houses, and they have fled from their Habitations, and run from his Righteous Judgements, but whether can man fly to hid himself from the Lord; and so that measure they meted out to others, is moted to them again, and this is just with the Lord, who is equal in all his Do, and just in all his Ways, and he will not be mocked by any; but such as People Sow, such must they Reap; and according to their Deeds, they must receive a reward. Wherefore Friends, so far as ye have a hand in the Sufferings of the Innocent, you have cause to Repent thereof, and to ease the Burdened, and to set the Imprisoned and the Oppressed Free; and as you tender and respect the good of your Souls, and desire to be tendered and respected by the Lord, so tender the Lords tender people, and do not in any wise usurp authority over their Consciences, for that is Christ's seat, and the Magistrates Sword is not to rule there, but only Christ the power of God, who maketh the Conscience, he alone is to rule in and over the Conscience; and Friends to the Light in your own Consciences, come and be obedient thereunto, and it will cause you to do unto all men as you would be done unto, and in the Light you must come to believe, hearked to it, follow and obey it, before your Souls can enjoy true peace with the Lord; and by it be enabled to deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lust; and by it to be taught to Live Soberly, Righteously and Godly in this present World; and to lay your Sword upon evil doers, and to be a praise to them that do well; and rather to tolerate, such and to defend them in the exercise of their Consciences towards God, in meeting together in his pure fear, to Serve and Worship him, then to suppress them: And to exercise your power in breaking up their meetings, who meet to Drink, Swear, Rant, Tear and Devour the good Creatures of God upon their filthy ungodly Lust, even to the great dishonour of the Lord, and to the grieving of his holy righteous Spirit; suppress such, for that is the Magistrates work; but as for those who feareth the Lord, and liveth Peaceably and Honestly with all men, let such have free liberty to serve the Lord in his own Way, and worship him in his own Spirit, and not to be compelled to a Dead, Dark, Invented, Superstitious Worship which is not of God; and then will the blessings of the Lord my God, be powered down upon you, and a good savour ye will be unto those that fear the Lord, from whom ye will be worthy of double Honour. And Friends, I understand that it is the desire, if not the intent of some of ye Rulers in this Town, to proceed against me unto Banishment, who am an innocent man and have done you no wrong, neither have I committed any thing against you, or any just Law worthy of Bounds, much less of Banishment; neither have I, in this County, been thrice Convicted by your Law, as an offender; and I would know whether those Records made by Justices, who are only Commissionated, for Norfolk, be good evidence in Suffolk, where those Justices themselves have no power, seeing the Law saith, that all offences (other than Treason) shall be Inquired, Herd and Determined in the Shire, Division, Limit and Liberty where such offences happen, as was Enacted in the third year of King James, see Chapter the fourth. Well I am not careful in this matter, touching my own particular, only I would not have you hasty in what you intent towards me, but seriously to weigh the matter, in that equal balance, the Word of God; and take heed what you do, and hurt not your own Souls, and sin not against the Lord, & then sure I am you cannot hurt me; Wherefore be wise, oh ye Rulers, and be instructed ye Judges of the People; touch not the Lords Anointed, neither do his Prophets any harm; and let not Envy and Prejudice blind your Minds, nor cloud the nobility of your Understandings, and take heed of engaging the Lord more and more against you and your Town; consider the Lord hath hitherto spared you and your Town, from the Woe, Sorrow, Misery, Distress, and Calamity which is come upon many other places; and if you desire the Lord should still spare you and your Town, then do you spare those who fear the Lord in your Town, and free them from their causeless Imprisonments, and do not Afflict them, lest thereby you hasten the just Judgements of the Lord God upon you and your Town, which is even at hand. Well, my soul in the Lord is at rest and in quietness, free from fearing the threaten of men, who are not able to Banish me from the presence of my God, who is with me, and with all who feareth his Name, who will work the deliverance of his people from their Sufferings, Burdens and grievous Oppressions in his own time and season, and will so far preserve them as that they shall be a People when the Egyptians shall he dead upon the Seashore of his Righteous Judgements; the Lord hath spoken it, in whom is my Joy and Peace, Refreshment and Comfort in the midst of my Sufferings, who will never leave me, if I leave not him, for whose Cause (for which I now suffer by you) I count not my Life too dear to part with, for the Testimony of my God, in whom is my Confidence, Trust and Hope, who hath form me for his praise, whose I am, & unto you my Conscience I have cleared, and whether ye will hear or forbear I am clear of your Blood, who am a Friend to your Souls and Bodies, and desire the welfare of both, and am one who loveth righteous Government and Governors, who are for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well; and such Rulers I truly honour in my heart, though not with the vain custom of the Hat, neither with the deceitful flattering titles of this World. This is from a true lover of your Souls, who desires your everlasting welfare and tranquillity in the Lord, who is a Sufferer by you, but not for evil doing, but for doing well; the Lord is his witness that this is true, whose Servant he is, whatever he be (by you or any) accounted of. Edmondsbury common Goal this 8th. Month 1665. William Bennit. To Friends of Truth in the Town of Colehester Greeting. DEarly beloved Friends and Brethren, who have tasted of the love and goodness ●f the Lord, and of the sweetness and pretiousness of his unchangeable Truth, the virtuous workings and powerful operations whereof you have felt in your hearts, whereby you witness and experience in measure your Souls set at liberty from the bondage of Sin and Corruption, to serve the living God in holiness of Life, to the praise of your God, who hath raised you out of the dust by his Power, and quickened you by his Life, and form you by his own Wisdom, and given you his good Spirit to guide and lead you, teach and counsel you, comfort and refresh you, oh, he hath given you a taste of the Word of Life, and power of the World to come; oh, he hath living Witnesses of his Name and Truth whereof you are made partakers, and that which you have seen and known, felt and tasted of, the same you have through the strength of the Lord born Testimony unto, even by Word, by Deed, by Life and Conversation, and through great Sufferings, manifold Tribulations and Afflictions, all which the Lord your tender God hath enabled you to wade through, and hath kept you from fainting unto this day; who hath been with you in six Troubles, and in the seventh, dear Babes, he hath not left you, but in all your Afflictions for his Namesake he hath been afflicted with you, and the Angel of his presence hath been your defence on the right hand and on the left; oh, how hath he carried you in his tender Bosom, and born you up in his Arms, and lead you gently when you were Weak, Young and Tender, and made the Crooked strait, and the Rough smooth before you, and thrown down many a high Mountain before you, and removed many a lofty Hill out of your way; who hath made a way for you in the Wilderness, and a path through many a Thickit, and hath made the hard things easy; he hath been a Shelter to you from the Heat, and a Refuge to you from the Storm, and many a time hath been unto your Souls as the shadow of a Rook in a weary Land; who hath given you Bread when you were Hungry, and Water to satisfy your Thirst; who Strengthened you when you were Weak, and Enriched you when you were Poor; who Healed you when you were Wounded, and Bound you up when you were broken to Pieces; who Comforted you in the midst of Sorrow, and hath Refreshed you when you have been heavy hearted, and lifted up your heads when they were bowed down because of the Oppression of your Enemies: Oh, how exceeding large is the love of the Lord your tender compassionate God of endless bowels of tenderness; oh, your own experience of his Love, his Mercy, his Pity, his Compassion, his Goodness, his Kindness and his Tender Fatherly Care and Deal towards you is much larger then what I can demonstrate with words; oh, how can you then but still trust in his Name, rely upon his Arm, and depend upon his saving Health, and hope in his tender Bowels, who is the same yesterday to day and for evermore; who hath been with you when Trouble hath compassed you round, to keep you from Dispair; and with you in the midst of Perplexity, to keep you from being Distressed; and with you in the midst of Persecution, to Sucker and Cherish you, and refresh your hearts as with New Wine; and oh surely, dear Babes, he is with you still, to Comfort you still, to Refresh you still, to Feed and Nourish you still, to Strengthen you still, to Uphold and Support you still, to Keep and Defend you; and surely he will never leave you nor forsake you, if you forsake him not, but will cleave unto you, as you cleave unto him, and will still be your God, and you shall be his People still, and rest in him for ever when in this World you shall be no more. Oh, dear Friends, my soul loveth you, wherefore I cannot forget you, but often remember you, especially since the Lord hath been pleased to visit that place with such fore Affliction, and to give it to drink so deeply of the Cup of his Righteous Judgements, and oh my soul desires that the Lord may keep and hid your Souls in the hollow of his hand, whatever Affliction he suffers to come upon your Bodies; and oh that he may enable you to wade through all, and to bear all with Patience and Contentedness, and think not any of you the Lord cares not for you, or that he disregards you, ●ecau●e he doth or may permit the Besom of his Righteous Judgements, (which he hath sent forth to sweep away the Wicked) to sweep away many of your Bodies from off the Earth, neither murmur against the Lord, who may do what pleaseth him, and yet all his do are Equal and Righteous altogether; and how strange soever his do appear to the carnal reasoning fleshly part, yet assuredly he intends good in all his deallings towards all the honest, simple, innocent upright hearted ones; and it is inwardly well with such whatsoever outwardly the Lord suffereth to befall them, and it shall be well with their Souls eternally, whatever the Lord permits to come upon their Bodies; and truly the sense of these things I know doth cause Joy to spring inwardly in the midst of outward Sorrows, and Comfort in the midst of Heaviness, Rest in the time of Trouble, and Content and Satisfaction in the midst of Affliction, and maketh that soul to bear all with patience, without murmuring against the Lord; and makes such to say, The will of God be done; well it is the Lord that suffereth it thus to be, and why should I murmur against him, seeing he knoweth what is best for me, and will not suffer any thing to besal me, but what through his Love and Mercy shall work for my good, as I cleave to him, and am faithful unto him; though my Earthen Vessel may be broken to pieces, and be turned to the dust, and be taken away, as the Wicked are, who know not God; yet nevertheless I know it shall not be with my soul as it shall be with the Wicked, for it shall go ill with them that Die and be cut-off in their Sins, but through the love of the Lord it is, and shall be well with my soul, for that shall Live and never Die, whatever comes upon my Earthen Vessel; wherefore I will not say in a murmuring way, Lord why is it thus, that as to outward appearance thou takest away the Righteous with the Wicked, and cu●est off them that fear thy Name with them that fear thee not, as if thou hadst no regard to thy people, nor respect to them that call upon thy Name, nor care over those who serve thee with an upright Heart; but I will be still, and know that the Lord he is God, and may do as seemerh good in his Eye, whose workings are Mysterious, and his do very Strange, and his actings very Marvellous in the eyes of many; who is even to for his people, unto whom he intends good altogether, for oh he loveth them, and they are dear unto him as the Apple of his Eye, they are his Portion which he hath chosen, and his Inheritance for ever, which he hath purchased for himself; who is God over all blessed for evermore. Oh, dear Friends Brethren and Sisters, my dear unfeigned Love extends to you all in the Truth of our God, wherein my soul salutes you who Love and Serve the Lord with a sincere and upright Heart; and in Spirit I am with you, though outwardly separated from you for the Seeds sake; and truly my soul simpathiseth with you in your Trials & Afflictions, both inwardly and outwardly; and oh that I could help you, saith my soul; but well, I can cry unto him who is able to help you, unto whom, dear Babes, I must leave you, who knoweth how it is with ever one of you all, and is not wanting in his Love, Mercy, Pity, Tenderness, Compassion and Care towards you who loveth him, and watcheth in his holy fear; whose tender bowels is more largely open towards his tender innocent hearted ones, than their weakness is able to comprehend. Oh the Lord Almighty be with you, and the Arm of his Power encompass you about, and bear you up, and keep you from Fainting and Falling as some have done (to the dishonour of the Lord, and grief of your Souls) and preserve you unto the end of your Days, that you may finish your Course with Joy, and lay down your Heads in Peace, and rest from all your Troubles, Sorrows, Trials, Sufferings and Afflictions, and receive the reward laid up for the Faithful who abide to the end; this is the desire and breathing o● my soul to the Lord for you, who is your Friend and Companion in the Faith, Patience and long Suffering of Jesus; and one that wisheth that Grace, Mercy and Peace, Joy, Comfort and everlasting Refreshment, with Strentgh, Wisdom and Might, may be augmented unto you all; and that the love of God may abound and superabound in all your Souls, and surpass all your Sufferings, that thereby your hearts may be kept open towards God, and one to another, in a large manner, and that you continue tender affectionated one to another in the Truth, and be as meet-helps one to another, both outwardly and inwardly, to your Comfort, and to the Praise of the Lord God Almighty; into whose hands I commit you, dear Babes, and the Lord be with you, and Comfort the Mourners amongst you, and Refresh the heavy hearted ones, and lift up the bowed down, and heal the Wounded, and comfort the Languishing with love, and lift up the weak Hands, and confirm the feeble Knees, and not suffer that which is Lame to be turned out of the way, but rather heal it, that the Halting may go upright, and the Lame may leap as an Hart, and the Tongue of the Dumb may sing of the goodness and loving kindness of the Lord, and make mention of his Mercy, and declare of his Do, and magnify his Name in the the Land of the Living, Amen hallelujah. From your Friend and Brother in the Truth, who hath often had you in remembrance, and also longed to visit you with a few Lines, but desirous to wait the Lords time; read and feel my love in that which is more precious and excellent than all Words whatsoever, wherein we are hid together; Farewell dear Lambs. William Bennit Edmondsbury Goal the 3th Month, 1666. THE original of the foregoing Lines was chief write to Friends in the Town of Colchester, but having freedom in the Lord, and even pressed thereunto by his Love; I thought meet to send Copies thereof to go among Friends in Suffolk, Norfolk, or elsewhere, as Friends have freedom to Communicate them one to another. And dear Friends, let this signify unto you that my soul loveth you, and have a remembrance of you, and a Brotherly care and affection towards you in the Truth, wherein I desire your Prosperity, Tranquillity and Preservation, in this day of Trial, in this hour and power of Darkness; even as I desire for my own Soul, the Lord my God even your God is my Witness; desiring that I and you (with all who love the Lord in Sincerity, and that make meation of his Name in Truth and Righteousness) may all be kept close in Heart and Mind unto the Lord, standing upon our watch in the Light, with the loins of our minds girded up unto God, having on the Breastplate of Righteousness, and the Helmet of Salvation to guide, star and order us aright, that we may not be Bewildered in this day of Storms and Tempests, and especially to have and hold fast the Shield of Faith, by which we may be able to quench and send off all the Fiery Darts of the Wicked, within and without; yea to have on the whole Armour of Light, being fitted for the Fiery Trials and Tribulat on's, that so nothing may come upon us unawares, before we be fitted for it; oh that it might not be with any of those who profess Righteousness, as i● was with the People in the days of Noah, who were Eating and Drinking, and Sporting themselves, Marrying and giving in Marriage, and knew not till the Flood came and swept them away; but oh that we may all stand upon our Watch-Tower, and all hold fast our Integrity in the Lord, and keep close to our first Love, and none to deal unkindly towards the Wife of his youth, by casting her off, and going after other Lovers, but all be tender over her, and still love her with your whole Hearts, and cleave unto her, for she is a Spotless Virgin, and never was Defiled with the alluring man of Pleasure, she is very Beautiful, Amiable and Comely in the Eyes of the pure in heart, and the Glory of the Lord God is her Dowry, and blessed for evermore is the soul that is joined with her in a perpetual Covenant, never to be broken. We all in this Prison, who suffereth upon Truth account are in a measure of Health at present, through the Love and Goodness of our God, blessed and praised be his Name for evermore; whose tender Compassion faileth not towards them who love him, therefore are his people not Consumed, but preserved as Lambs in the midst of devouring Wolves, by him the good Shepherd of Israel; who stopeth the Mouths of Lions, and chaineth up the Beast of Prey for his little Flocks sake, whom he so dearly loveth, that they may behold his Power, and admire his Love, and trust in his Name, and return the Praise unto him whose Mercies are over all his Works, glory to God in the highest; my Love salutes you, all farewell dear Friends. W. E. SOME Prison Meditations OF AN Humble Heart: Given forth from a Child in Israel, whose soul very dearly loveth his Heavenly Father's Children, much desiring (and travelling in Spirit for) their Prosperity in the Truth, even as for his own soul; and the Author hereof believing and knowing that this following Treatise may (if the Lord will) be of service unto many, of the tender, honest, simple, single, upright-hearted ones, who are following on to know the Lord in the footsteps of Righteousness; and who desireth to pass over on to the end, in the straight way of Holiness; therefore, even for their sakes, is this following Treatise Published from a constraint of God's love, in singleness and simplicity of Heart. OH, Oh my Soul, be not unmindful of the large mercy and goodness of the Lord shown towards thee, neither forget the exceeding loving kindness of the Holy One manifested unto thee, oh my Soul; oh let the sense of what the Lord thy dear, tender, pitiful, compassionate God hath done for thee, continually be fresh in and upon thee, oh my Soul; for the Lord thy God hath freely done that for thee, which none besides him the mighty one could do: Oh my Soul the Lord hath brought thee out of the Pit, even out of the horrible Pit, and out of the Mire and Clay, wherein thou once stuck so fast, as that thou couldst never have been able to have gotten out by all means possible thou couldst have invented, but must have sunkdeeper and deeper therein, and so have perished for ever, had not the Lord God of infinite mercy helped thee, who did cast his eye of pity and compassion upon thee, and out of his mere mercy, love and free grace, stretched out his hand to help thee, oh my soul, when none besides him could help thee, and by his arm of his loving kindness lifted thee up out of the horrible pit, out of the mire and clay, and hath set thy feet upon a Rock which stands sure, and can never be moved, and thereon he establisheth thy go, praises, pure living righteous praises to the Lord thy God be rendered by thee, oh my soul, even forever and for evermore. Oh my Soul, remember thou wast once even like a poor Sheep without a Shepherd, wandering upon the barren Mountains and dry Heaths in the Wilderness and solitary places, full of Trouble, Sorrow and Perplexity, and knew not the way to the Fold of Rest, oftentimes mourning and weeping alone, as a Dove without her Mate, when no eye saw thy sorrow but the Lord alone; often saying in thy heart, whose State and Condition is so miserable as mine? who so Poor and Desolate as I? none knowing how it is with me but the Lord alone: And indeed the Lord then saw thee and knew how it was with thee, oh my soul, and he the tender God of unfathomable bowels of Compassion behold thee in that day, when thou didst eat thy bread Weeping, and mingled thy drink with Tears, and he the compassionate one heard thy secret cries, and knew thy secret desires, and thy sighing and groaning entered into his ears, and thy tears which thou dropped upon his Altar laid open unto the view of the eye of thy tender merciful God, and his tender bowels was moved with pity towards thee, and for his own Seeds sake he had compassion upon thee, oh my soul, and helped thee in the day of thy Trouble, and delivered thee out of Distress, who freely reached forth his Arm unto thee, and took thee by the Hand, and brought thee out of the Wilderness and desolate Places, and set thy feet in the right way which hath led thee to a City of Habitation, and to the Fold of Rest; and now the Lord (who both sought thee, and found thee out, and brought thee out of the Wilderness, and from off the barren Mountains) he is become thy Shepherd, oh my soul, and how canst thou want any good thing, he oftentimes feedeth thee, and even causeth thee to lie down in green Pastures, & leadeth thee by the still Waters, even Shilc's brook, which runs softly, and he spreadeth thy Table in the sight of thy Enemies, and anointeth thy Head with the oil of Cladness, and causeth thy Cup to overflow with new Wine, and hath brought thee to sit under thy own Vine, and under thy Figtree, and none shall make thee afraid, oh my soul: Oh the Goodness of the Lord, oh the Kindness of the Lord, oh the Mercy of the Lord, oh the Pity of the Lord, oh the Compassion of the Lord God of tender Bowels is even Unutterable, Unspeakable, Unfathomable and Incomprehensible; Oh the Height, oh the Depth, oh the Length, oh the Breadth of the Love of the Lord: Oh my soul! truly when thou meditatest of the goodness of the Lord, and considerest of his loving kindness and mercy shown towards thee; oh, how can but the sense thereof pitch thee even upon a stand of admiration: Oh surely, surely when thou, oh my soul, lookest back into his Works, & considerest how much he hath wrought in thee, and for thee, thou canst see no end of his praises; oh praises, oh living praises, holy righteous praises unto the pure holy righteous Lord God be ascribed by thee, oh my soul, for ever and for evermore. Oh my Soul as thou art kept in the fresh sense and remembrance of the great Loving Kindness, the great Mercy, the great Pity and unspeakable Compassion of the Lord thy tender God which he hath, and daily doth manifest unto thee, oh my soul; oh, how canst thou but in the sense of God's unspeakable Love abound in Love, in Pity, in Mercy, in Kindness, in Tenderness and Compassion towards all People, but especially towards all Souls who are Seeking, Thirsting, Hungering, Breathing, Crying and Painting after Righteousness, Peace, everlasting Rest and eternal Happiness: Oh, my soul, the Lord thy God knoweth the frame of thy Spirit, the Lord knoweth the tenderness of thy Bowels, and the openness of thy Bosom towards all the Seekers after Righteousness, towards all the Travellers to Zion, and towards all the Mourners therein: Oh, my soul, remember how that at sometimes when the great Fountain, the great Deep hath opened, and issued forth of his fullness into thee, oh my soul; and when Joy hath come into thy heart as a River, and Gladness as a mighty Stream, Refresh as showers in the Spring, and Consolation as due upon the tender Plants, and when thou couldst sing for joy of heart, and shout aloud even Praises and hallelujahs to thy God, that then, even than thou, oh my soul, remember'st the Poor and Needy in his own Eyes, and thinkest thou hearest his cry sounding in thy Ear, and his soul saying in secret; Oh how many is there who Eateth of the largest Loaves, and Drinkest of the largest full Flagons; but oh, alas for me, I have scarce a drop of Refreshment, hardly a crumb of Consolation, but my Tears is my Meat and Drink Day and Night, whilst my Enemy saith unto me, where is thy God▪ Oh I go bowed down all the day long, and none knoweh my Sorrow but the Lord alone; Oh, I am even as an Owl in th● Desert, and as the Pelican in the Wilderness, I am as the alon● Quail in the stubble Fields, and as the Dove mourning for th● loss of her Mate, and as the alone Sparrow upon the House top, and as a Woman forsaken and grieved in Spirit; Oh, whose Condition is like mine! is there any amongst the Sons and Daughters of Men like unto me? is there any so Poor as I? oh, is there any so Needy as I? oh, is there any so Weak and Feeble as I? is there any so Foolish as I? oh, is there any so Dry and Barren as I? oh, is there any so Cold and Fruitless to God-ward as I? is there any so Desolate as I? Oh my leanness, oh my leanness, oh how long, how long shall it be thus with me? oh how long, how long shall I sit mourning as by the River of Babylon with my Harp laid aside? oh when, when shall I walk again in Zion, and travel in the Streets of Jerusalem? with a new Song in my Mouth, and everlasting Joy upon my Head, and living Praises in my Heart unto the Lord who dwells in his Zion, and his presence is great in his Jerusalem; but oh alas for me, I am as one cast out of his sight, and one who walketh dejected all the day long; Oh when will the Lord cause the days of my Mourning to be over, and the nights of my Sorrow to pass away, and my Sigh and Groan to vanish, and all Tears to b● wiped from mine Eyes? oh when will the Lord give me Beauty instead of Ashes, the Oil of Joy for Mourning, and the Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness, that I (a Poor Dry Barren one) might become a Tree of Righteousness, bringing forth Fruit of Holiness abundantly to the praise of the Lord God, that he in and through me might be glorified? Oh when shall my Winter be over, and the terrible Storms be gone? oh when shall the cold nipping Frosts be expelled, & the Darkness and Gloominess be extinguished? oh when will the Sun of Righteousness break forth unto me in his Glory, and his warm Beams refresh and warm my poor cold Soul? oh when will the Spring come, when shall I know a Springtime ● the Lord? oh when will Summer come? oh when will the singing of Birds come? oh when shall I hear the voice of the Turtle in my Land? oh when will the Showers from on high fall down upon my Soul? oh when shall I receive the early and latter Rain? oh when shall I come to sit under my own Vine, and under my Figtree, and none to make me afraid? Oh how long shall my Beloved be hid from me, as in the cliffs of the Rocks, and as in the secret places of the Stairs? sometimes indeed he shows himself unto me, as behind the Wall, and as through a Lattice, and then my Bowels, my tender Bowels are moved for him: Oh when, oh when shall I have a full enjoyment of him whom my soul loveth? oh that I could but plainly hear his Voice, and perfectly see his Face; for oh indeed sweet is his Voice, and his Countenance is very comely; my soul desireth him in the Night season, and in the Morning I seek him early; but oh I cannot find him whom my soul loveth, for he hath with-drawn himself from me, and 〈◊〉 is the cause of my Leanness, Coldness, Barrenness and Unfruitfulness to God-ward, which is the cause of my Sorrow, Tears, Sighing, Groaning, Mourning and walking Dejected all the day long. Oh, indeed there was a time once when my Beloved knocked at the Door of my Heart, saying again and again, open, open, unto me; my Head is wet with Dew, and my Locks filled with the Drops of the Night; open, open unto me, and let me in; but oh woe' me, I was gotten into a Bed of false Ease and wrong Security, and was loath to come out; but I made many excuses, and said, I have put off my Coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my Feet how shall I defile them, & c? and I lingered so long, as that my Beloved withdrew himself; and at last I risen (in my own time, not when he called) to open to my Beloved, and he was gone, and then I called him, but he did not answer me, I sought him, but did not find him; and oh, my Bowels, my Bowels is even pained for him, and my Soul panteth after him, even as the Hart painteth after the water Brooks; Oh that I could but find him whom ●y soul loveth, oh I would hold him, I would hold him fast, I would not let him go; he should lie all night in my Bosom, I would be watchful and diligent that I grieve him not, and very fearful of displeasing of him, and would take heed of giving him any cause whereby to leave me, and thus to hid his Face from me; but oh, alas for me, when shall I find him, when will he come I long for? Oh when, when shall I have my full enjoyment of him? oh, when will he bring me into his Banqueting-house, and his Love be even as a Banner over me, his left hand under my Head, and his right Embracing of me, staying me with Flagons, comforting me with Apples, making me Sick of Love, giving me of his spiced Wine, and of the juce of his Pomgranets? oh, if thus I could come to enjoy him whom my Soul Loveth, than would all Tears be wiped away from mine Eyes, and I forget my Sorrow, because of Joy and Gladness, and then should I look no more Sorrowful, but should Rejoice, as Hannah did, and say; Oh my Heart rejoiceth in the Lord, and my Horn is exalted in the Lord, and my Mouth is enlarged over my Enemy (who said unto me, I shall be always Barren and Unfruitful) because I rejoice in his Salvation, who hath regarded my low Estate; oh, now I the Barren shall bear Seven, and she who hath had many Children wax Feeble, now I the parched Ground become a Pool, and I the dry Heath Springs of Water, now I the solitary place rejoice, and I the Desert blossom as a Rose, I the Poor one made Rich, and I the Weak one made Strong, I the Foolish one made Wise, I the Empty one overflow with Fullness; now the days of my sore Mourning turned into Joy, and the nights of my Sorrow turned into Pleasure, and the seasons of my seeking him whom my soul loveth turned into times of sweet reposes with him in his bed of solace▪ But oh, alas for me, I may speak of these things, but oh, when, when will it be thus with me? oh how long shall I wait, how long shall I seek, how long shall I call and utter my voice weeping, saying, oh come away, come away unto me, thou whom I mourn for, whom I long after, whom my soul loveth; oh I have waited so long that I am weary, and begin to be almost without hope of his coming any more unto me: Well what shall I do, and whether shall I go? I will even lay me down in Sorrow, and make it my Bed, and make Grief my Sheets, and Tears my Pillow, and Sighing and Mourning my Sleep, until he come whom my soul loveth; for verily I cannot, I cannot be satisfied with another besides him. Oh, who amongst the Son● and Daughters of Men shall I make my moan unto? unto whom shall I complain and ease my heart unto? where shall I find one who is sensible of my condition, that can sympathize with me, and that can speak a word in season unto my poor soul, oh, is it thus with any as it is with me? Yes, yes, I believe there is many hath been, and many now are in thy condition: Oh, where may I find one of them, that I might ease my heart unto him, and spread my condition before him? for, oh verily my Bowels is very open to those who be in my condition; well, have patience, be quiet, and be still, and lend an ear unto me, and I may speak a little how it is with me, and it may be (if the Lord will) to thy comfort; for, oh truly my soul loveth thee, oh my heart is moved with compassion towards thee, oh my bowels, my bowels is open unto thee, and my soul greatly simpathizeth with thy soul, and could even wish my soul (for a time) in thy souls stead; oh, though indeed I am but a Child, yet truly I am in some measure sensible of thy condition, and can read it by my own; and oh how willingly would I help thee, according to my ability; oh, truly methinks I would even be a help unto all who stand in need of help, but especially unto thee thou poor soul; What art thou Poor? so am I; what art thou Weak and Feeble? so am I oftentimes; what art thou Empty? so am I oftentimes; what art thou Cold and Barren? so am I sometimes; what art thou as one Desolate and Destitute? so am I sometimes; what dost thou eat thy Bread Weeping, and mingle thy Drink with thy Tears? it is so with me at sometimes, when I want the enjoyment of him whom my soul loveth, for truly it is with me sometimes as it is with thee; for sometimes, I have not the enjoyment of my Beloved, as I have at other times, but sometimes he seems to be withd-rawn and to hid his-Face from me; oh than it is with me as it is with thee; oh than Sorrows take hold upon me, and Trouble surroundeth me about as a Wall, and Mourning covers me as a Garment, and none seethe my Tears but the Lord; oh than my Leanness, my Leanness, my Coldness and Barrenness is my greatest Burden, which causeth me to go bowed down in Spirit, saying in my heart, Oh, whether is my Beloved gone, and what is the cause he hath with-drawn himself from me? wherefore is it thus with me, what is the matter, what shall I do, what will the Lord leave me, what will my God forsake me, what will the Lord now cast me off who hath done so much for me? oh what is the cause that it is thus with me? wherefore is the Windows of Heaven shut up, and the Showers of Refreshment from on high withheld from me? oh once I could say the Lord is my Shepherd, and my soul doth not want; he causeth me to seed, and even to lie down in green Pastures, and leadeth me by the still Waters, and spreadeth my Table with Dainties, and anointeth my Head with the Oil of Gladness, and causeth my Cup to overslow with new Wine: But oh, alas for me now, I am in a Dry and Thirsty Land where no Water is; Oh, what hath the Lord cast me off for ever? oh my Tears is my Meat and Drink, whilst my Enemy saith unto me, where is thy God, dost thou think he will ever appear again unto thee? why dost thou thus Hunger, Thirst, Cry and Paint after him? alas, it is in vain for thee to wait for him; once indeed thou hadst the enjoyment of him, once thou went'st with a Multitude, with them to the House of God, with the voice of Joy and Praise, with a Multitude that keep holy day; but, alas thou must not look for such a day again: And thus the Adversary of my soul endeavoureth to add Sorrow to my Sorrow, and to increase the weight of my Burden, that so I might sink and never rise; But, oh the Lord my God is near to help me, even in that time when I can scarce perceive him, and when I am (as Peter was) ready to sink, than his invisible arm of Mercy is ready to save me, and a secret hope the Lord preserveth alive in me, which is as an Anchor unto my soul, which keeps me from suffering Shipwreck, a hope that the Lord will appear again to me to my Joy, whereby some encouragement I feel stirring in me to wait upon the Lord patiently, and to trust in him, though I do not see him; and to rely upon him and hope in his tender bowels, when he seems to be far o●f me, and to roll myself upon him, and surely he will appear again to thy Joy, oh my soul, who canst not be satisfied without his presence, even the presence of the Lord thy God, which thou desirest more than all things else whatsoever; wherefore the Lord seeing it is so with thee, that thou desirest his presence more than all other things; surely, surely he will not cast thee off for ever, surely he will appear again to thy joy, wherefore, why art thou so much cast down, oh my soul, and why art thou thus disquieted within thee? oh hope, hope thou in thy God, for thou shalt yet praise him, the Lord will yet again command his loving kindness in the day time, and in the night season, his song shall be with thee, even praises to the God of thy Life; oh wait patiently upon the Lord, and trust in the living God, whose compassions fails not towards those who love him; oh, he will send out his Light and Truth into thee again, and it shall bring thee unto his holy Hill, and to his Tabernacle, and then shalt thou go to the Altar of God, of God thy exceeding joy, and upon thy Harp shalt thou praise the Lord thy God, thy Delight and Joy, oh, it is good for thee both to hope and quietly to wait upon the Lord, for the Lord is good to the Man that waits upon him, unto the Soul which seeketh him, and cannot be satisfied without him; oh, wait patiently upon him even as a Servant waiteth upon his Master, and as a Maiden at the hand of her Mistress, so do thou wait for the Lord, and even as the Husbandman who soweth his Seed in the Earth, hath long patience for it until he receiveth the early and latter Rain; so do thou wait patiently upon the Lord, who will be unto thee as the early and latter Rain in due season; wait upon him, he who is to come, will come, and will not tarry, and his reward will be with him, even fullness of Joy, Comfort, Peace, Rest and sweet Satisfaction unto thee; for surely, surely, the Lord will never leave thee nor forsake thee, if thou forsake him not; indeed he may seem to hid his Face from thee for a time, but without doubt he will appear again to thy Comfort, who cannot live without him? oh my soul, the Lord heareth thee often saying in secret, alas, What is the Glory of the World unto me? what is the Honour and Praise of the World unto me? what is the Favours, Friendship and Estimation of the World to me? what is the Vanities, vain Sports, Delights & Pleasures of the Sons and Daughters of Men to me? oh, surely all these things are but as Drofs and Dung unto me, in comparison of the Lord my God, who is the Fountain of everlasting Joy, Delight and Pleasure; oh, if I enjoy him fully I have enough; he is the joy of my Heart, the rejoicing and gladding of my Spirit, the strength of my Reins, the girdle of my Loins; wherefore, how can I live without him? oh my soul, the Lord intends good unto thee by all his deal with thee, if he withdraw for a time, and hid his Face from thee for a season, it is thereby to let thee see what thou art without him, how Poor, how Weak, how Feeble, how Foolish, how Empty, how Dead, how Dry, how Cold, how Barren and Unfruitful art thou without the Lord? that so thou being made truly sensible of thy own Weakness and Inability, may be the more sensible of the needfulness of the supporting Power, and upholding Arm, and saving Grace of the Lord thy God, and the more to rely and depend upon the Lord; oh my soul, though the Lord withdraw his presence from thee, thou comest the more to know what the want of his presence is, and comest to learn to prise the sweet enjoyment of his presence the more, and to hold him fast and cleave unto him, and to be very vigilant and careful thou dost not grieve him, nor do the thing that may cause him to withdraw himself from thee, oh my soul. Oh my soul, thou must learn to know how to Want, and how to Abound; how to be Full, and how to be Empty; how to be Rich, and how to be Poor; and in every Condition to be content, and not to murmur against the Lord; the Lord can open and none can shut, and he can shut and none can open; the Lord ean open the windows of Heaven and shower down abundantly upon thee, oh my soul, and even make a Plenty in thy Land, even cause thy Store to abound with Corn, and thy Fats over flow with new Wine; and he can also shut up the windows of Heaven for a time, & make a Famine in thy Land, if he pleaseth and thou must not say unto him (in a murmuring way) why dealest thou thus with me? for indeed he may do what he will do, and yet all his do are Just & Righteous altogether, and in all his deal with thee, he thy dear, tender nursing Father, intends good unto thee, oh my soul. Oh my soul, when the Fountain openeth, and the great Deep overfloweth, and fills thee with plenty of all things needful for thee, even then, oh my soul, dread and fear thou before the Lord, and take heed of being lifted up in Heart, of being puffed up in Mind, of being exalted in Spirit, and beware of a false Ease, and wrong Liberty and false Security, which may soon steal upon thee at such a time, if thou do not abide upon the Watch, and dread the Lord, and drink the draughts of Joy in the pure fear and trembling, never departing therefrom, in what ever thou enjoy of the Lord, or receive from the Lord, or do and suffer for the Lord, keep low in Heart, meek in Mind, humble in Soul, tender in Bowels, contrite in Spirit, and then, oh my soul, thou art in a safe condition; truly, my soul, when thou appearest Wise, Strong, Rich and Full enough, even than thou art rather in greater danger than when thou appearest Weak, Poor and Empty in thy own eyes, although thou art not then without danger, but hast cause to fear and watch in all conditions; oh my soul, when thou appearest Weak, Poor and Feeble in thy own eyes, even then take heed of distrust and doubting, but hold fast thy Trust in the Lord, and let thy Confidence in his Name be firm, and Hope in his tender Bowels be sure, and constantly rely and depend upon him, and honour him in believing in him, and if he kill thee, yet trust thou in him, and never leave him; for, alas whether shouldst thou go, he hath the word of eternal Life, who is worthy to be Glorified, Magnified, Honoured and Praised, Feared, Served, Loved, and Obeyed forever, and for evermore. Oh my soul, thou dearly lovest thy Father's Children; oh, the Lord knoweth how near and dear his dear Babes and tender Lambs are unto thee, oh my soul; oh, thou knowest them in the Spirit of Love, wherein thou delightest to Embrace them (even those whom, outwardly, thou never saw) and (in spirit) to clasp them about, and kiss them with a Kiss of Peace, and hug them in the Bosom of Indearedness; ah, thy Bowels, thy Bowels is open unto them, and thy Love is dear indeed towards them, as the Lord thy God knoweth; and oh that love might abound in thee more and more, and in the hearts of all the Children of Light, it may abound one towards another, as in Days past, and Years which are gone, that it may appear to all we are of God who is Love, and that we all are true Disciples of Christ in that we love one another, not only in Show and in Word, but in Deed and in Truth, loving one another fervently with a pure heart. Oh my soul, thou desirest to sympathize with thy Father's Children, in their Trials, Sufferings and Afflictions; and (in spirit) to bear a part with them therein; oh, thou desirest even to Mourn with them that Mourn, and to Weep with them that Weep in secret; and to Rejoice with them that Rejoice, and to Travel in Spirit with and for the Travellers to Zion, and with the Travellers in Zion, and to watch with those Watchmen, which the Lord hath set upon the walls of Jerusalem, who for Zions' sake cannot be still, and for Jerusalem's sake cannot hold their peace; who cease not to cry day and night to the Lord, and can give him no rest until he establish Jerusalem, and make her a praise in the whole Earth for evermore. Oh my soul, be watchful and wary that thou dost not in the least degree seek Glory, Honour and Praise to thyself, and to be had in esteem by others; but, oh wait to feel self wholly Baptised into Death, and made of no Reputation; and take heed that thy left hand know not what thy right hand doth, and do nothing to be seen of men, or whereby to be accounted of by others; but in all thou dost, appeal unto him who seethe imsecret, and he it is who will reward thee openly▪ seek thou to be only known, and manifested, to the pure u●erring Witness in all Consciences, and to stand justified and approved by it, and that is enough, no Honour, no Glory, no Praise but to God alone; oh, strive not for Lordship and Mastership over others, but rather strive to be most Meekest, Lowest, Humblest, Tender and Contite in Mind and Spirit, condesending even to the Lowest, and serving the Meanest in love; seeking Peace and Unity amongst Brethren, with all self-denial, bearing, forbearing and forgiving for the Seeds sake; bearing with the infirmities of the Weak and Feeble, watching for the good in all, without respect of Persons; but not to watch for evil in any, for that is abominable in the eyes of the Lord; and seek thou the glory of God alone, the honour of his Name, exaltation and spreading forth of his Truth, the freedom, growth and reign of the Seed of God in the hearts of all, the prosperity of his tender Lambs; Babes and Children, that they may all stand in this day of Trial, and be preserved in this hour of Darkness and Temptation, and even to seek the good of all, yea the good of thy greatest Enemies, and have nothing but love and good will towards thy greatest Persecutors, seeking the Salvation of all people, but not the Destruction of any. And, oh my soul, be circumspect; and vigilant, to walk so as becometh the Gospel, and thee to be an adorning to the Truth of God, and to be as an holy example and righteous pattern unto all people, wherever I come, that I may be unto the Lord as a sweet smell and delectable savour, that the blessing of the Lord my God may be pou●ed down upon me yet more and more, that I might become fruitful unto the Lord my God, and be an instrument in his hand amongst the Sons and Daughters of men, to the praise, glory, honour and renown of the Lord Almighty, for evermore; oh my soul, watch and fear before the Lord, and take heed thou dost not that thing to please others which thou knowest is not approved by the Lord; keep thy eye unto the Lord, & look not ou● at others, to walk by Imitation, and if thou seest him or her, one or another (whatever they be accounted of) do those things which the Lord allows thee not to do, do not thee do them because another doth them, but watch and keep close unto the Lord, and take counsel of him. Oh my soul, do not judge, or justify those things which thou hast not a true discerning in, because an other judges or justifies them, but rather be passive in that matter, and stand still and wait upon the Lord for a perfect understanding in all things. Oh my soul, seek not Liberty to the Flesh, beware of that counted Freedom, which is indeed Bondage, which hath stolen upon many in their latter days; oh my soul, endeavour to put off those things, which in their plac● are said to be Lawful, which are a means to hinder thy growth into the Eternal: And oh, walk wisely before all men, giving no offence to the Jew nor Gentile, nor to the Church in God, knowing that there is that which is Lawful, but not Expedient; there is that which is Lawful, but it Edifies not; wherefore forbore what may be forborn, and yet be not brought under the power of any thing below the life, but seek after those things which make for Edification, Love, Peace and Unity; for God is the author of Peace, and not the author of Confusion, Strife, Contention and Debate: Oh my soul, thou dost greatly desire that I might not appear, in the sight of any of the Lords Lambs and little ones, to be mor● then what I really am in and through the grace of God, by which I am what I am, and his grace which he hath freely bestowed upon me hath nor been in vain, praises to his Name forever; oh, I would not be accounted of by any little one to be more than what ● am in the Lord, but rather let me be hid, lest honour should be ascribed unto that, unto which it doth not belong; for indeed all honour belongs to God alone; alas all Flesh is as Grass, and what is Man, he is but a Vessel wherein God may appear or disappear as he pleaseth, and indeed the Lord is jealous of his Glory, and he will not give it unto another; wherefore my soul seek the glory, honour and praise to God alone, unto whom only it is due for ever and evermore. Oh my soul, thou dost not want the love, the dear unfeigned love of the Lords dear Babes, tender Lambs and Children, and oh thou desirest thou mayst not want their prayers for thee, oh my soul, that I may be preserved in this day of trial, and be enabled by the Lord to finish my Testimony for him, to his praise and my comfort, joy and peace for evermore. Oh my soul, fear thou before the living God, and very diligently take heed lest thou who standest should fall, as several hath done, to their own woe, and to the dishonour of God, and to the causing his unchangeable Truth to be evil spoken of, and many seekers after Righteousness to stumble, & the hands of Zions Enemies thereby strengthened against the Faithful of the Lord, whose hearts are made sad, whom the Lord hath not made sad; even in the sense of the sad condition of those who once in some measure were acquainted with the Lord, once tasted of his Goodness and Graciousness, of his sweet unspeakable Love and Peace, and even in some measure, tasted and handled of the word of Life, and of the powers of the World to come; who were delivered out of spiritual Egypt by an outstretched Arm and mighty Power, and by the same Power carried through the spiritual Sea and Wilderness, and did in measure eat of the spiritual Meat, and drink of the spritual Rock, which was made unto them as a pillar of Fire by night, and a pillar of a Cloud by day, etc. and yet behold they are drawn back again by the Enemy of their Soul, through their yielding unto his Temptations, and receiving his Proffers, and are turned as the Dog to his Vomit, and as the Sow that was washed to her wallowing again in the mire; and hath even mad● Shipwreck of Faith and a good Conscience, and are proved treacherous Children, denying their Father who begat them, and casting off their Mother who traveled in pain to bring them forth, and hating the Womb that bore them, and the Paps which gave them suck, and this hath come upon them through Carelessness and Sloathfulness, and through Reasoning and Consulting with the Enemy of their Souls, and through looking at the Trouble, Trial, Sufferings, straits and Difficulties which appeared in their way, and through lusting after the fleshpots of Egypt, through looking back into the Ease, Pleasure, Riches and Honour of this World, which hath carried them away captive again into Egypt, into the house of Bondage again; wherefore, oh my soul, watch, watch and stand fast in that Liberty which the true Christ the Power of God hath brought thee into, and take heed thou be not entangled again in the yoke of Bondage. Oh my soul, if there be some who once were in some measure Fresh, Green, Tender, Living and Fruitful unto God, who now have lost their Freshness, Greenness, Tenderness and Fruitfulness towards God, and now Coldness, Deadness and Barrenness is come upon them to God-ward, and their Love and Zeal for the Lord waxed cold; oh my soul, if it hath thus happened unto some, oh, how canst thou but fear before the Lord, lest the same should happen unto thee also. And if some there be whose minds are gotten into a full Liberty, and are at ease in the Flesh, living above the Cross of Christ Jesus, which Crucifies to the World, and grown Careless and Negligent, spending their time often with vain Talking, foolish Jesting, and needless Communication; how ought all to spend their time in waiting upon the Lord, in meditating and exercising themselves in the things of God, being very watchful over their Thoughts, Words, Works and Actions, having the pure fear of the Righteous God fresh in their hearts, standing in awe of him always, lest they should Sin against him in Thought, Word & Deed, lying down & rising up in his pure fear, Eating & Drinking and doing all things in the pure fear of the Lord, knowing a stay to their Minds, a stop to their Thoughts, a bridle to their Tongues, a watch before their Mouth, and a fearing in their Hearts, lest they should not be watchful enough over their Lives and Conversations, yea even over their very Carriage and Gesture, their words being very few, sober and savoury, even savouring of the grace of God in their hearts, they desiring and endeavouring to walk so as that they might in Life, Carriage and Conversation be as holy Patterns and righteous Examples of Love, of Peace, of Holiness and Purity, of Meekness and Lowliness, of Tenderness and Pity, of Mercy and Compassion, of Patience and long Suffering, of Sobriety and Gentleness etc. that so they might walk as becometh Saints, B●a●eless and Harmless, as Sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation, amongst whom to shine as Lights to the adorning of the Truth of God professed by them, and to the Glory, Honour and 〈◊〉 of the Lord God, and to the Joy, Comfort, Refreshment, Peace and Consolation of their own Souls: Oh this condition is very sweet, blessed and happy; wherefore ●leave, cleave, and keep close unto the Lord thy tender compassionate God, and then assuredly the Lord will cleave unto thee, and will not leave thee, oh my soul; wherefore lift up thy head in the strength of the Lord, and look up unto the holy one, whose dwelling is on high in the holy place; and with thee, oh my soul, as thou art kept humble in Heart, contrite in Spirit, meek in Mind and trembleth at his Word; and look not at thy own Weakness, Feebleness and Inability, but keep thy eye unto the Lord and trust in his Name, rely and depend upon his Arm, and hope in his tender Bowels, who maketh the Poor Rich, the Weak Strong, the Simple Wise; wait thou patiently upon him, and look not out at the greatness of others measures, neither look thou at the smallness of thy own, least Faintness, Weariness and Discouragement should thereby come in upon thee, and thou murmur because thy measure is no greater, but be thou contented, and truly satisfied with thy portion, and be faithful unto the Lord in thy measure, and being faithful in the little, thou shalt be made ruler over much, and enter into the joy of the Lord; wait upon him, who hath freely given in thee what thou hast of him, and he can give thee more; there was nothing in thee (that was of thee) which induced the Lord to communicate that measure of his fullness unto thee, which he hath dispensed to thee, but of his own mere mercy, tender love and free grace, who of his own free will hath begotten thee again unto a living hope, so that thou well knowest, that it is not he that willeth, nor he that runneth, but God who showeth mercy: Oh thou hadst not awakened out of the sleep of Sin and Corruption, had not the mighty God thundered from his dwelling place upon thee, and awakened thee; oh my soul, surely thou hadst never been raised out of the dust of Sin, and grave of Iniquity, had not the Lord of his own free will raised thee up, and brought thee forth by his own Almighty power: Oh my soul, surely thou hadst never (as of thyself) turned unto the Lord, had not the Lord of his own free will turned thee, and after thou wast turned thou Repentedst, and after thou wast Afflicted thou smotest upon thy Thigh, yea thou wast confounded, because thou borest the shame of thy youth; and surely, my soul, after the Lord had turned thee in measure to him, thou hadst not followed him in the narrow and straight Way, through the Cross in the Self-denial, had not the Lord thy God drawn thee after him by the cords and wooings of his tender Love; and surely thou hadst turned back again from the Lord into the Mire and Dirt again, and hadst never Stood until this Hour, but must have Fainted and Dyed ere this Day, had not the Lord of his own free will Kept thee, Preserved thee, Upheld thee, and Supported thee by his own almighty Power, whose Grace hath been sufficient for thee, both in the day of Prosperity, and in the day of Adversity, in the time of Trial, in the hour of Temptation; and so let all Flesh be silent in thee, oh my soul, and the Lord only Exalted, and the Boaster for ever Excluded, and God alone have the Glory, and self wholly slain, and the Lord alone Honoured and Praised, and his unspeakable Love and free Grace, Admired, and his holy Name Feared and Obeyed, by whose Grace thou art what thou art, and his Grace bestowed upon thee hath not been in vain; blessed, blessed be the Lord, and pure holy praises to him, and glory and halleujah to him in the highest, Amen saith my soul. Oh, Lord, what was I and what was my Father's house? I was neither a Prophet nor a Prophet's Son; what was I, that the King of Glory should cast his eye upon me, even when I lay as among the Pits? what was I that he should hold forth the Sceptre unto me, and I should find favour in his sight? who regarded my low Estate, and raised me out of the Dust, and brought me from off the Dunghill to sit among Princes. Oh my Soul, the Lord hath done much for thee since the day he form thee in the Womb, and brought thee forth for his Praise; he hath made the crooked things straight before thee, and rough smooth, and Mountains he hath laid low before thee, and removed many a Hill out of thy way, and he hath made a way for thee in the Wilderness, and a path through many a Thicket, he hath lopped the Bough with terror, and the great one of stature hath been hewn down; he did cut up the Thicket of the Forest with Iron, and Lebanon did fall by a mighty one; oh, he hath made the hard things easy unto thee; oh, how hath his Love made thee willing to bow thy neck to the Yoke, and to take up the Cross, and totally to despise the Shame, and to follow the Lamb through some Trials and Tribulations, whose love hath drawn thee after him, whose love hath (as it were) made thee to forget thy father's House? Oh, how hath his love caused me to cast off other lovers, and to love the Lord my God, who is now become my Treasure, and my heart is with him? so that if I be shut up in Prison, if I enjoy him; oh, than Days, Months and Years may pass over my head, and Time is not thought long, nor Sufferings hard, because of the enjoyment of the presence of the Lord my Treasure, whom my soul loveth, for whose sake I am willing to suffer; whose pure sweet refreshing, comfortable Presence makes a Prison delightsome to me; praises, pure living praises to my God for ever, who hath been with me in six Troubles, and in the seventh he hath not lef● me: he is my Buckler, my Shield, my Strength, my Rock, my Safeguard, my strong Tower; wherefore I'll not fear the threats of the Wicked, neither regard the cruelty of the ungodly, nor heed the purposes of my Enemy, nor mind the determinations of unrighteous Men; through the strength of my God I will not fear, though the Earth be removed and carried into the midst of the Sea; and though the Mountains shake, through the swelling thereof; though the Heathen rage, and the People imagine vain things, and the Rulers take counsel against me, I'll not fear what man can do unto me, for the Lord is with me, and I shall not be moved, and th● Lord will help me; and that right early; yet alas for me, poor, poor worm, I am but a Child weak and feeble, but indeed having had great experience of the love of my God, and of his tender Fatherly care over me, how can I but confidently trust, hope, rely and depend upon my God, believing that he, the mighty one, will enable me, the weak one, to wade through and endure those trials he pleases to exercise me withal; who through his love and mercy hath caused my Trials to work for my good, praises to his name for evermore, who hath nine times delivered me out of the hands of unreasonable men, out of their Prisons and Holes, where I have suffered for the Testimony of my God, through his enabling of me, without murmuring against him; praises unto him alone, no honour, no glory, but unto God, saith my soul, who hath kept me by his power from bowing to the Beast, or drinking of the Whore's Cup; pure praise to my dear God for evermore, who will free me once again from Bonds in his own time. I am willing to wait thy season, oh my God, who art with me; and oh let me never departed from thee, O Lord, and then I know thou wilt never leave me, but thou wilt be my God, to help me still, and to support me still, and to comfort me still, and refresh me still, and quicken me still, and to feed me still with Bread from Heaven, fresh Manna Morning by Morning, and give me to drink of the River of thy Pleasure Daily; who wilt enable me to stand faithful to thee unto the end of my days, that I may finish my Testimony for thee, thy Name and Truth in this thy day, even with Joy, and lay down my Head in Peace, in thy tender Bosom of endless Love, oh my tender God, and therein repose, with thy dear Children for evermore, and have my full satisfaction of love in thee, thou Fountain of Love, and therein fetch my full breath for evermore; oh let it be so, oh let it be so, oh my dear God, for thy own Seed sake, to thy own praise thou holy one, who is worthy, worthy of all glory, glory, honogr and everlasting thanksgiving, and pure living praises for ever, and evermore, Amen, Hallelujah, glory and eternal renown to the almighty one in the highest, Amen. Oh my soul thou dearly loveth the whole Flock of God wherever they are scattered upon the face of the Earth; oh, thou greatly desireth their Prosperity and Tranquillity, and that the Lord may prosper and bless them withal spiritual Blessings in Christ Jesus: Oh, the Lord God keep all his Children every where in this hour & power of Darkness, and preserve his dear Babes and tender Lambs in this day of great Trial and manifold Temptation; Oh the Lord keep all those who make mention of his Name in Sincerity and Truth, from bowing in the least degree unto the Beast, and from drinking the least drop of the Whore's Cup, although she should be permitted to drink their Blood; Oh, the Lord God Almighty keep his Sheep and Lambs, who were once scattered abroad, in the cloudy dark day, whom he hath sought and found out, and gathered out of the desert Places, and waste howling Wilderness, whom he hath brought from off the barren Mountains and dry Heaths, into the low, low, low fresh green Valley, where the pure sweet refreshing consolating springs of Life Eternal encompasseth them about; Oh, the Lord keep them still and quiet, minding their Feeding, and not at all h●●● he raging of the Sea, nor regard the unmerciful Waves thereof, which often looks very high, as if they would quite o●● flo● the Val●●y of the low Places, and drown all who flee not unto the Mountains for Refuge and Safety; but oh let not the heep and Lambs, and little ones fear, nor at all flee to the H●ll● for Refuge, for behold the Lord the high and mighty one, the holy one of Israel is their Shepherd, and he even continually watcheth over them, and greatly careth for them, and he it is who hath giving bounds to the raging Sea, and he limits the proud Waves thereof, and shutteth up her Floods as he pleaseth; he can let forth the Wind, and suffer a Storm, and he can make a Calm when he pleaseth, he can cause the Sea and the Wind to obey him; and therefore the Children of God need not to fear none besides the Lord, who will suffer nothing to besal them, but what shall work for good to all his chosen faithful ones; wherefore it is good for all the Children of the Lord confidently to trust in the Lord, and not at all fear, though their Enemies pursue hard after them, and say in their hearts, Come, come, we will pursue them, we will overtake them, our Lusts shall be satisfied upon them, we will have the desire of our Hearts concerning them, we will draw our Swords, and our Hands shall destroy them, and we will try whether their Gods (in whom they say they trust) be able to deliver them from the stroke of our Hands; Well, let not Israel heed the boasting and threatening of his Enemies, nor regard the purposes of his Adversaries, though they pursue hard after him, and say, We will bring them back again into Egypt, or else we will totally Destroy them; Yet let not Israel fear, for the Lord his God is between him and his Enemies, and fights for him against his Adversaries, and he in his Anger will look down upon them, and trouble their Host, and take off their Chariot wheels, and will blow in his Wrath upon them, and the Sea of his righteous Indignation shall cover them, and they shall sink as Led in the bottom of his righteous Judgements, and he will get himself a Name through the destruction of Sion● Enemies, and Honour and Magnify himself through the deliverance of his Chosen, who will work wonders for his Redeemed, insomuch as the Dukes of Edom shall be amazed, and even trembling▪ shall take hold upon the mighty men of Moab, and all Nations shall shiver and quake before the mighty God of Israel, who is dreadful in Holiness, fearful in Praises, doing Wonders: Oh, let Israel honour his God in believing in him, and in trusting in his Name, in relying and depending upon his Arm of everlasting strength, and patiently without murmur to wait upon the Lord, for he that is to come will come, and wil● not tarry, whose work is before him, and his reward is with him, even Joy for the Mourners in Zion, and Beauty for Ashes, Gladness for the heavy hearted in Jerusalem, Freedom for Bondage, Freedom from Weights, Burdens and grievous Oppressions. Oh let all the Children of the Lord wait without fainting, upon the Lord, for yet a little while and the voice will be heard, saying rejoice, and even sing for joy ye Saints, Servants and Prophets of the most High, and triumph in the Lord Almighty over the Beast and false Prophet, and over the Whore which hath corrupted the Earth, who hath long sat as a Queen, and said in her heart she should never see Sorrow, with whom the Nations of the Earth hath committed Fornication, and she hath made Nations, Kindred's, Tongues and People drunk with the wine of her Fornication, who hath long deceived the Nations with her golden Cup, which hath been filled with Abominations, and in her is found all the Blood of the Martyrs, and Servants of J●sus, which hath been shed upon the Earth, and she hath rid upon the Beast that risen out of the Sea, who received his seat, great power and authority from the Dragon, who persecuted the true woman that was clothed with the Sun, and had a Crown of twelve Stars upon her head; who sought to devour her Manchild, and made war against the remnant of her Seed who keep the Commands of God, and have the Testimony of Jesus; these cannot worship the Beast nor his name, nor receive his mark, but these worship God alone, and are followers of the Lamb through many tribulations, whose garments are made white in his Blood, by whom they are redeemed from amongst men; these the Beast and false Prophet have sought to Kill, Persecute and root out from off the face of the Earth; but woe, woe, woe, to the Beast, false Prophet, and the Whore, for the day of their Judgement is come, & Misery, Calamity, Distress & Destruction is coming upon them; & she, the mother of Harlots, the mother of Witchcrafts, the Abominations of the Earth shall utterly be Destroyed, and totally Burnt with Fire; for strong is the Lord God Almighty who Judgeth her; and now sing O Heavens, and rejoice ye who live therein, over mystery Babylon the great, for it is fallen, it is fallen as a mighty Millstone into the bottom of the Sea, never more to arise again, Amen, Hallelu●ah. And the Lord will thunder from Heaven upon thy Enemies, oh Zion, and will break thy Adversaries to pieces, and will give strength to thy King, and exhalt the horn of his Anointed, and he shall Reign, and Rule, and Prosper, and execute Justice and true Judgement in the Earth; in his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and sit under his own Vine, and none shall make him afraid; then shall it be said to Jerusalem fear not, and to Zion let not thy hands be slack, the Lord in the midst of thee is mighty, he hath saved thee, he hath set thee free from thy Trouble he will rejoice over thee with Joy, he'll joy over thee with Singing, than it shall be said, sing oh Daughter of Zion, and shout o Israel, and rejoice withal thy heart, oh Daughter of Jerusalem, for the Lord hath taken away thy Judgement, he hath cast out thy Enemies, and thy Warfare is accomplished, and thy great Travel is finished, and now thou shalt rest from thy Labour, and they who have Laboured and Mourned with thee, and for thee, shall rejoice for Joy with thee, and suck and be satisfied with the sweet consolation of thy Breast, and milk out, and be delighted in the abundance of thy Glory; oh the Lord thy Husband, thy maker (the God of hosts is his Name) will extend Peace, Joy, Comfort, & everlasting Refreshment as a mighty Stream, and endless Consolations as a River; oh than shall they be Comforted in thee after their Sorrow, and be born up upon thy Sides, and dandled upon thy Knees; for as a Woman comforteth her only Son, so will the Lord comfort Jerusalem; in the sense whereof her Children shall rejoice, and their Souls be right glad, and flourish as an herb, and their Spirits shall praise and sing glory unto him who is Lord and King of Heaven and Earth, who is worthy, worthy of all Glory, Praise and Honour for ever, and for evermore, Amen saith my soul. The thing which the Lord hath purposed must be accomplished in his season, and the thing that he hath determined must be fulfilled in despite of all the powers of Darkness; Oh, that all thy Babes and Lambs may willingly wait thy appointed time, O Lord God Almighty; oh dear God, keep all thy people retire in thy Name, that so what ever thou suffers to befall their Bodies, their Souls may be safe bundled up in the bundle of Life, wrapped therein for evermore, for a terrible day is like to be upon all Flesh, and who can be able to abide it? Oh, dear God, increase the Patience of thy People, strengthen the Faith of thy Chosen; oh, support the Weak, and uphold the little Ones, which cannot go alone; oh, that none of thy Flock may faint, nor grow weary; oh, that all thine might stand in the day of Trial, and be kept in the hour of Temptation, and born up under all Sufferings, that so in the end they may come forth as Gold seven times refined in the Fire, that they may shine as Stars in the Firmament of thy Power, making mention of thy Goodness, Graciousness and Kindness, O Lord God Almighty, declaring of thy mighty Acts, and sing of thy Mercies and wonderful do, and Glorify, Magnify, Honour and Praise thee, thou mighty everlasting and powerful one, who art from all Eternity to all Eternity, whose Throne is established of old, whose Sceptre beareth sway in Righteousness, whose Kingdom is Everlasting, glory and hallelujah to thee in the highest, for ever and for evermore, yea praises, praises, pure living praises every minute, be rendered unto the Lord Almighty, saith th● s●ul of W. B. OH arise, arise, thou holy righteous Seed of the Covenant of Life Eternal; Arise, arise, thy Light is come, and the Glory of thy God is risen upon thee; Oh thou lovely one, Nations shall come to thy Light, and Kings to the brightness of thy Rising; Ah thou beautiful one, thy Sons shall come from far, and thy Daughters from the ends of the Earth; Arise, arise thou beautiful one, who art altogether lovely: Oh how sweet is thy Love, thou lovely one? oh how excellent is thy Love, thou choice one? oh thy love, thy love is more precious than Rubies, more sweeter than Honey, oh thy love is better than Wine; Oh how hath thy love overcome the hearts of many, and won them unto thee? oh thy love draws many after thee; oh how doth thy love cause many to cast off all their other Lovers to follow thee, thou lovely one? oh thou art become unto many Souls (who loveth thee, thou lovely one) even the chiefest of ten thousands, whose eyes are opened to see thy Beauty, and to behold thy Comeliness, thou beautiful one; oh thou art hid from the Polluted, neither can the Unclean behold thy excellent Beauty, the Vulture's eye cannot perceive thy Comeliness, nor they who hath eyes full of Adultery, and cannot cease from Sin, and have hearts exercised with covetous practices, and are gone a whoring after many Lovers; oh from these thou art hid, thou lovely one, even as a Garden enclosed, as a Spring shut up, as a Fountain sealed from them: Oh arise thou choice one, and let thy Beauty appear unto those who have not seen thy Beauty; and let them taste of thy Love, that so they may cast off all other Lovers, and follow thee; cast off all, and cleave unto thee with their whole hearts. Oh arise, arise thou beloved one, and shine forth in thy excellent Glory, that even the Nations may be ravished with thy Beauty, and Kingdoms overcome with thy Love, and be drawn after thee, that a blessing in thee they may obtain; Oh, arise and let thy Fruitfulness appear, thou precious one, and let Joy and Gladness fill thy heart, thou lovely one, for the days of thy rejoicing is come and coming, and the days of thy mourning, oh Zion, is fleeing away; Oh thou beloved one, thou hast been even as a Woman forsaken and grieved in Spirit, and few or none of the Sons or Daughters of Men hath looked upon thee with an eye of pity; oh thou hast been as the Owl in the Desert, and as the alone Sparrow upon the house top, and as the alone Quail in the stubble fields, and as a Dove mourning alone without her Mate; who hast set solitary alone as in the Wilderness, and none among the Sons of Men to comfort thee; & oh thou beloved anointed one, thou hast been like unto a man of Sorrow, and very deeply acquainted with Grief; often Smitten, often Grieved, often Afflicted, often Wounded, often Pierced and Oppressed, even as a Cart that is pressed with Sheaves, and yet the Sons and Daughters of Men hath not esteemed thee; although indeed, thou patiented one, thou hast been wounded by their Transgressions, and grieved, smitten and pierced, and bruised by their Iniquities, and hath born the weight of their Sins, and the burden of their Transgressions, even while they like Sheep have gone astray, every one following his own way, & Feasting themselves as for a day of Slaughter, whilst thou hast been Mourning because of the Iniquity of the People; Eating and Drinking and rising up to Play, whilst thou hast been Weeping and Groaning in secret, because of the multitude of their Transgressions, who hath heaped Sin upon Sin, and Iniquity upon Iniquity, and hath loaded thee therewith, which hath been as an impress of ten thousands upon thee, thou tender one, and unto thee they had no regard, they took no notice of thy Sorrow and Burdens: But oh thou beloved one, thy God, thy tender God, who hath loved thee with an everlasting Love, took notice of thy Sorrow, and he saw thy Grief, and beheld thy sore Weights and Burdens, and took cognizance of thy grievous Oppressions, and he heard the voice of thy Weeping, and thy Tears which thou droppedst upon his Altar lay in the view of the eye of his pitiful Soul, and he beheld thy great Travel, and thy Sighing and Groaning entered into his Ears, and his tender, tender Bowels of infinite Love, Mercy, Pity and everlasting Compassion, was and is moved towards thee, and he hath determined to comfort thee, with an everlasting Comfort, thou patiented suffering one, and the Nights of thy Sorrow, shall vanish away for ever, and the Days of thy Mourning, shall be over. Oh thou beloved one, lift up thy Head, lift up thy Head, in the strength of thy God, and gird up thy Loins with Courage in the power of his Might, for thy Winter is almost over and gone, and shall no more come, the Storms are vanishing away and shall no more appear, the nipping Frosts are dissolving by the Sun of Righteousness, who is arisen upon thee with healing in his wings; Ah, lift up thy voice like the sound of a Trumpet, and shout like the voice of a King, and sing for joy, thou beloved one; for thy Spring is come, thou lovely one; thy Summer is come, thou lovely one; the singing of Birds is come, thou beautiful one; and the voice of the Turtle is heard in thy Land, thou delicate and choice one; let thy heart be filled with Melody, thou blessed one, who art clothed with Chastity, and keepeth thy Virginity in the Chamber of Purity; oh, thy beloved is come, and into his Banqueting-House he is bringing thee, where his Banner over thee is Love, where he will stay thee with Flagons, and comfort thee with Apples, and cause thee to drink of his spiced Wine, and of the juice of his Pomgranets; oh Zion, rejoice thou in his Love, for the days of the gladding of thy heart is come, thou tender one, who hast been tossed with tempest & not comforted; thou hast been termed Desolate and Forsaken; thou hast been as one Barren and Unfruitful: but now arise, arise, lengthen thy Cords, and strengthen thy Stakes, and enlarge the Curtains of thy Habitation; for lo thou fruitful one, thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy Seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and thy Offspring the People; the North shall give up, and the South shall not keep back; they shall come from the East, and from the West, & flock unto thee as Doves to the Window; thy Sons shall come from far, and thy Daughters be nursed at thy sides, thou shalt cause many waste places to be builded, and many Buildings to fall, and desolate places to be Inhabited, and Inhabited places to be laid desolate, and barren Mountains to become fruitful Valleys, and fruitful Places to become barren Mountains, and the Wilderness become a Vinyard of sweet Grapes, the Forest as a City of Habitation, the parched Ground to become a Pool, and dry Heaths springs of Water; oh arise, arise, thou beloved one, and let thy Fruitfulness be manifested to the Nations, break forth in thy excellent Glory, shine forth in thy glorious Beauty as clear as the Morning without Clouds, fair as the Moon, and bright as the Sun, that thou mayst appear as a royal Diadem in the hand of the Lord, and as a Crown of Glory in the hand of thy God, that far off Nations may see thy Beauty, and remote Kings may see thy excellent Glory, and be won by thy Love unto thee, that they who hath Hated thee may Love thee, bccause of thy Love that did extend to them, even whilst they hated and rejected the wooings of thy Love; oh, my soul loves thee in thy Love, th●u lovely one; oh kiss me, kiss me with the Kisses of thy Mouth, for thy Love is better than Wine, oh thou beautiful one, thy Love overcomes my heart, thy Love draweth me after thee; oh thou art pleasant unto me, thy presence is more desirable than all things my heart can desire; oh; if thou hidst thy Face, thou bountiful one, then am I bowed down, for the smiles of thy comely Countenance is the rejoicing of my Heart, and the gladding of my Soul, the refreshing of my Spirit, as marrow to my Bones, and strength to my Reins; oh, thou art my Joy in Sorrow, my Comfort in Mourning, my Help in Need, my Strength in Weakness, my Riches in Poverty, my Bread in Hunger, my Water in Thirst, my Refuge from Storms, my Shelter from Heat, and as the shadow of a Rock to me in a weary Land; oh, how can I but love thee in thy Love, thou lovely one; oh, thou art my Mother who hath traveled in great pain to bring me forth, thou art the Womb that bore me, and the Paps that gave me suck, the Cradle of my rest, and the Bed of repose; oh can I forget thee? how can I forget thee who hath done so much for me even that which no man could do? oh, thou lovedst me first before I loved thee, thou lovely one, and with thy Love thou wooed'st me, and by thy Love thou overcamest my heart, and drew it after thee; and now thou amiable one, the desire of my soul is unto thee, and unto the remembrance of thy Love; oh, my Soul desireth thee in the Night season, and in the Morning I will seek thee early; thou art as a cluster of Campire, and as a bundle of Myrrh unto me, thou shalt lie all Night between my Breasts; oh thou lovely one, let me repose in thy Bosom, and fold me in thy Arms; oh, thy Love, thy Love oucrcomes my Heart, thy Beauty even makes me sick of Love; oh, let me remember thy Love more than Wine, it is the upright loves thee, and it is the pure in heart who seethe thy Beauty, and beholdeth thy excellent Comeliness; oh, let thy Love still draw me after thee, oh, let me never leave thee, oh, that I may never forsake thee, nor be unmindful of thy Love which I have known to be stronger than Death, and him who hath the power of Death; oh, thou art a Tree of Life to those who take hold on thee, and blessed is every Soul that retaineth thee; Oh, thy ways are ways of Pleasantness, and all thy paths are green and delightsom to those who love thee; oh in thee is my rest, in thee is my peace, in thee is my joy, in thee is my comfort, in thee obtain I blessing and happiness; thou art my Joy, and the Crown of my Rejoicing for ever and for evermore; Oh, wherefore hold me, hold me with thy Love, thou Lovely Blessed One, and let me never departed from thee, and then I know thou wilt never departed from me; but I shall be thine, and thou shalt be mine in a perpetual Covenant, which never shall be broken; Oh thou Comely Beautiful Choice One, thy Riches is durable, for the Glory, the glory, the glory of the Lord thy God is thy Dowry for evermore: Unto whom be ascribed all honour and glory, eternal praises and renown, and everlasting dominion for evermore; so be it saith my Soul, and Amen saith my Spirit; Oh come Lord Jesus, come quickly, and take unto thyself thy great power to Reign, for thou art worthy, worthy saith my Soul; glory to thee in the highest for evermore, Amen. Written in Edmondsbury common Goal in the year 1665. William Bennit. This to go among Friends to be Read among them when assembled together in the pure Fear and Wisdom of God. DEarly beloved Friends and Brethren, Sheep of the Lords Pasture, Lambs of the Lords Flock, and Lilies of the Lords Field; the comely beautiful Garment of Innocency, Meekness, Love, Truth and Righteousness which doth cover many of you, even affecteth my Heart, and induceth my Soul dearly to love you, and Spirit to travel for your Welfare, Tranquillity and Preservation even in every particular respect, desiring the Lord God of Blessings may Bless and Prosper you in Truth and Righteousness, and that his Grace and Love, Mercy and Peace, with Joy and Consolation, Strength and Wisdom may be augmented and multiplied in and unto all your Souls, that so the increase of him (the fullness of all durable Riches) to your Souls you may witness, and that the Fountain of Life (with whom is the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge) may be enlarged unto you, that of his fullness you daily may receive, whereby your Hearts may be opened and enlarged more and more unto the Lord, and one unto another, and that the sense of his Goodness and loving Kindness, Mercy, Pity and Compassion shed abroad and manifested towards you, may always be fresh in and upon your hearts▪ that indeed the largeness of his endless unchangeable, unspeakable Love may be by your Souls admired, and be an engagement and tye upon every particular one to oblige your Hearts, and bind your Souls unto the Lord God, and unto his immutable invincible Truth; oh dear Friends, much hath the Lord done for us, and let his do be still marvellous in our eyes, & let his own Works show forth his Praise, whose Mercies endureth for ever; dear Friends, the Lord God of Compa●●●on sought and found us out, in the cloudy, dismal, dark Day, when we were scattered upon the barren Mountains and dry Heaths, wandering as silly Sheep without a Shepherd; but now hath he gathered us together, and even made us a Family like a Flock, and brought us down into the low Valley, and hath given us fresh and green Pasture to Feed in, and streams of living Water to Drink of; and now the Lord (the Almighty Jehovah) is our Shepherd, and his everlasting powerful Name our Fold, and therefore are we not Consumed, though the Beasts of the Field have come forth against us, to destroy us, and the roaring devouring Lions have been very greedy of their Prey, yet are we preserved unto this day, because the Lord hath been our defence on the right hand, and on the left, who hath and doth Fight for mount Zion; and as the Hills are round about Jerusalem, so hath the Lord been, still is, and will be round about his People, as the munition of Rocks for evermore, and their Bread shall not fail, and their Water shall be sure; O let all that fear the Lord trust in him whose Mercies are everlasting. Oh dear Friends, the Lord once found us in a solitary Place, and in a waste howling Wilderness, Hungry & Thirsty; Naked and Desolate, our way hedged up as with Briers and Thorns, and there must we have Perished, had not the tender God of Bowels looked upon us with an eye of Pity and Compassion, and helped us in the day of our Distress; how did he lop the Bough with Terror, and the strong one of stature he hewed down; he did cut up the Thicket of the Forest, as with Iron, and Lebanon did fall by a strong Arm, and made a way for us in the Wilderness, and a path through the Thickets; he laid low the Mountains before us, and removed away the Hills, and made the crooked Paths straight before us, and was a Refuge to us from the Sto●m, and a Shelter to us from the Heat, and as the shadow of a Rock unto us in a weary Land; and now hath he brought us into a right Way, which leads to a City of Habitation, to a quiet dwelling Place, where the Lord feeds his Flock, and causeth them to lie down at Noonday; oh marvellous are the Works of the Lord, and the Living can sing of his Mercies, his tender Compassion faileth not towards the House of Jacob, he is a Father unto Israel, and Ephraim is his first Born; let Judah show forth is Praises, whose Mercy endureth for ever. Oh dear Children of my heavenly Father, remember we once sat as by the Rivers of Babylon, and Weeping we thought upon Zion, Mourning in the sense of our separation from her, even as a Woman Mourneth for her only Son; and then we could not sing▪ the Lords Song in a strange Land, but were as a Dove without her Mate, and the alone Sparrow upon the House top; as the Pelican in the Wilderness, and as the alone Quail in the stubble Field; as a Woman forsaken and grieved in Spirit, ask the way to Zion with our Faces thither-ward, saying in our hearts we would be joined again unto the Lord in a perpetual Covenant never to be broken. And how graciously hath the Lord returned again our Captivity, as streams in the South, and hath brought us on the way to Zion, with Joy and Gladness, and our Sighing and Mourning is in measure fled away; oh the Lord is worthy to be Feared, and his holy Name is worthy to be Honoured, and Magnified in the Congregation of the Righteous, for his Mercies abids for ever. Oh dear Babes, we who once did sit in Darkness, have seen a great and glorious Light, and unto us who once sat under the Region and shadow of Death is the Light of Life risen, and the blessed day sprung from on high shineth in our Habitation, and the Lord is unto us an everlasting Light, and let us for evermore walk in his Light, as becometh Children of Light, shining (in our holy Lives and blameless unspoted Conversations) as Lights in the World, to the Praise and Glory of God whose Goodness and Mercy is without end. Dear Babes, the Lord hath brought us forth of the Prison House, and lifted us up out of the dark miry Dungeon; h● hath raised us out of the Dust, and taken us as from the Dunghill, to set us among Princes, and to inherit the seat of Renown, which is the Chair of Humility. Oh the Height and Depth, Length and Breadth of the Love, Goodness and Mercy of the Lord, let our hearts be rend and broken before him, and humbled in his Presence, and let us walk before his Holiness, and tremble at his Word, and bow down unto his holy Name, and stand in awe of the Lord, for whom Praises waits in Zion. Now seeing the Lord hath done so much for our Souls, let us wait upon him for Strength and Power daily, thereby to endure, to answer the largeness of his Love in all Obedience and Faithfulness to him, who hath broke our Bands asunder and snapped our Cords in ●ieces; and now dear Friends, let us stand steadfast in that Liberty whereinto the Lord by his Truth hath brought us, and not be entangled with the Yoke of Bondage as too to many are, who were once made Free by the Lord; oh how have some for fear of Persecution started aside out of the narrow Way, into the broad Way; and some for the Love, Favour and Honour of this World are departed from the Faith, and have made Shipwreck of a good Conscience; and some through the deceitfulness of Riches; and some through the Cares and Cumbrances of this World, the Seed of God is Choked again, and the Earth is come over it again, and the World hath eaten up their Hearts, and their Minds are become carnal again, and the Goodness of the Lord is forgotten by them, and the Spirit of Slumber hath shut them up; and for these doth my Soul mourn in secret, and travel for their Restoration, and in the sense of what is come upon them, how can we but Fear and Dread the Lord, and Watch and Pray, and keep close to the saving preserving power of his Grace which hath kept us unto this day, Praises to his Name for ever. Oh Babes, we had need continually to stand upon our watch Tower having the Loins of our Minds girded up unto God, with the Girdle of Truth, having on the Breastplate of Righteousness and the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, that we may be able to send off the Fiery Darts of the Enemy within, and be able to shun his Wiles, and to keep out of his Snares, that we may never be betrayed of the simplicity and innocency of Truth as it is in Jesus. Oh how hath he prevailled over some, and drawn them into a self separation, and particularily from the Body which is joined unto Christ the Head, from whom the Body receiveth Virtue, whereby every Member is Nourished, and all comes to supply its Plaee and Office in the Body, and so is of service to the Body, as it keeps its Order; and so every Member being in unity one with another, are as meet helps one to another; and so the Strong in some things may help the Weak, and the Weak in some things may help the Strong; so that the Hand cannot say unto the Foot, I have no need of thee, but every Member to be as Servants one to another, and all in Subjection to Christ the Head, that the increase of the Body may be witnessed unto the Edifying of itself in Love. Dear Friends, if some who under pretence of ceasing from Man, and Words, and Forms, etc. doth absent from the Assemblies of the Righteous, and withdraw from the Meetings of the People of God, etc. yet I hope the Lord will preserve you from that Spirit, and I hope the Love and Power of his Truth will stir up your Hearts and constrain you to be very diligent and faithful in meeting together in the holy Fear and Name of the Lord God, to wait diligently upon, him in the measure of his Light, Life and Truth received, that so ye may daily receive Teaching, Counsel and Instruction from the Lord, and receive of his heavenly Dew and Virtue, whereby you may daily be Quickened, Warmed and Inlivened in the inward man, and be kept alive unto God, Green and Fresh as the Willow by the River's side, as the Lilies in the Valleys, and as a watered Garden, giving a sweet smell and delectable savour, that the Blessings from on high may be showered down upon you more and more, that your Fruit may increase to the praise of his holy Name. So dear Babes; I commit you unto the Preservation and Protection of the Lord God, who in this the day of great Trials hath mightily stopped the raging Sea, and hath limited the proud Waves thereof, and hath shut up her Floods as he hath seen meet; oh let every poor little tender honest hearted one put their trust in the Lord, if they be never so Poor, Weak and Feeble in their own Eyes, let them cast their care upon the Lord, for he careth for them, and rely upon the arm of his Mercy, and hope in his tender Bowels, and he will be Strength to thee who (without him) art Weak; and he will be Riches to thee who (without him) art Poor; believe and trust thou in him, and harken not to the false Accuser, neither join to the Consulter; but be still and know the Lord is God all-sufficient for thee, and all those that lean upon him for Help, and that depend upon him for power, he is able and ready to save in the hour of Temptation, to support in the day of Trial, to uphold in the greatest Storm, and to keep in Patience until it be over and gone, and a Calm comes again. Dear Friends and Brothren, in that Love which is unspeakable doth my Soul dearly salute you and embrace you, simpathising with you in your Trials, desiring to Mourn with all them that Mourn, and to Rejoice with them that Rejoice, and unto him you are left, who is able to Comfort the Mourners among you, and is ready to left up the Light of his refreshing Countenance upon the heavy hearted, and bowed down under the burdens of the Righteous Seed, & to strengthen the feeble Knees and to heal the Wounded, and bind up the broken in heart, that they that hath, or doth sit in the solitary place of Mourning may be filled with the Joy of the Lord, and that they that yet are bowed down with the false Accuser of the Brethren, and lie mourning in the pit of Distrust, Unbelief and Desperation, may mount upon the wings of Faith, unto th● holy hill of Zion, thereon to stand with the Lamb, and to sing the new Song which none can sing but the Redeemed of the Lord, so be it saith my Soul. From your true Friend and Companion in the Faith and Patience, and long Suffering of Jesus, who is often with you in Spirit, though in Body Separated and Confined from you, being still close shut up in Prison, with several of the Lords Lambs, whose good Presence is with us, blessed be h●s Name, upon whom we wait for Deliverance, believing that the Almighty God, who delivered Just Lot from the Wicked Sodomites, whose Ungodliness vexed his Righteous Soul from day to day; and who delivered his People of Old out of Egypt, and freed them out of the Hands of oppressing Pharaoh; and who delivered David out of the Paw of the Lion, out of the Paw of the Bear, and from the hands of the uncircumcised Philistine; who delivered Jeremiah out of the low miry Dungeon, and Daniel out of the Lion's D●n; who delivered the three Children out of the Fiery Furnace, and Paul and Sila● out of the Prisonhouse (he the Living God, who changeth not, whose hand is not shortened that it cannot save) will at this day deliver his People out of all their Sufferings, and free them of their Burdens, Weights and grievous Oppressions in his own time, Blessed are all they that durst not look out at time, as some have done to their one hurt, but wait pariently upon the Lord, who can change Times and Seasons as he pleaseth; who dwelleth in the Heavens, and also ruleth over the Kingdoms of men, and setteth up and throweth down as he pleaseth; who seethe all the Works of the Sons of men, and pondereth all their do; he is a God of Knowledge, and by him actions are weighed; he excelleth in Strength, Power, Wisdom and Mercy, and his Throne is from everlasting, and his Kingdom without end; who is God over all blessed for evermore. Let none get into a false security because of the present Calm, the Lord can suffer a Storm, and make a Calm again, when he pleaseth; let all Watch and Pray, and Fear before the Lord, and wait upon him to be fitted for-Tryals, that so no Storm may come upon you before you are ware of it, and before you be ready for it. Dear Babes, Read and Feel my Love in the Truth, and therein let not your Love be wanting one to another, but live in Love, Unity and Peace, and the God of Love and Peace be with you, and his Blessings rest upon you, Farewell dear Friends. William Bennit. E●monds-Bury common Goal this 25th. of the first Month 1667. A Testimony to the True Light that lightens every Man that comes into the World. The People that did sit in Darkness have seen a great and glorious Light, and unto those that were under the Region and Shadow of Death is the Light of Life arisen, and the Blessed Day sprung from on high, and shineth in their Tabernacles; and that which they have seen, heard, felt and tasted of, the same they have and do bear Testimony unto, though few there be that have received their Testimony. For who hath believed our Report, and unto whom is the Arm of the Lord Revealed. But come ye, O House of Israel, and let us walk in the Light of the Lord. THE Light revealed within is the (narrow) Way to Life Eternal; and the Door into the Fold of Everlasting Rest: The Lightis the Entrance into the fresh and green Pasture wherein the Lord feedeth his Elock, and causeth them to lie down in peace and quietness, out of the reach of the Beasts of prey: The Light leads and draweth those that obey it, out of Darkness, and from under the region and shadow of Death into the Land of the Living, there to dwell under the region & shadow of Light and Life: The Light breaks the Bonds of Sin in pieces, and snappeth ●he Cords of Iniquity asunder, and sets the Soul free from the Bondage of Corruption, to serve the Lo●d in the Life of Righteousness: The Light draweth and leadeth those that believe in it, and obey it, out of the Alienation and Separation from God, into the Everlasting Covenant of Life and Love, where the Soul is in unity with the Lord: The Light searcheth the Heart, and operateth in the secrets of the Minds of those that obey it, and like unto Leaven worketh the Heart and Mind into its own nature, frame and quality: The Light is Pure, Holy and Undefiled, and hath no unity with the least impure Thought, Word or Work, but Judgeth and Condemns it: The Light is Meek, Contrite, Lowly and Humble, & condemns that honour that is corrupt, and is from below, and standeth in respect of Persons; and it seeketh the honour of God only: The Light Baptizeth self into Death, slays the Boaster, puts Flesh to silence, that God may speak in his Temple, who is not to be denied the Mouth to speak by: The Light is the heavenly Treasure in the earthen Vessel, that brings honour and glory unto God: The Light hath no fellowship with Darkness; he that saith he is in the Light, and hath unity with the Light, and yet loveth and walketh in Darkness, lieth, and the Light hath no room, place or entertainment in his heart: The Light teacheth those that love it to love Enemies; its fruit is Love, no Envy, no Malice, no Hatred, no Bitterness, no Enmity, no Prejudice, no Discord, no Backbiting, no Reviling, no evil Whispering proceedeth from the Light; the Light condemns it all, and that ground from whence it springs: The Light hath no unity with any unfruitful works of Darkness, but reproves them: The Light teacheth to render Good for Evil, and to forgive Enemies, and to pray for Persecutors, and to have love and good will to all People, and to seek and desire the Eternal good and welfare of all Souls; he that hates and envies his Enemies abideth not in the Light; Envy is of the Evil-one; he that saith he walketh in the Light, and hates his Brother, lieth, and errs from the Truth: The Light teacheth to love God with thy whole heart, and thy Neighbour, or Brother, as thyself; He that saith he loves God and hates his Brother, is a Liar, he that loveth him that begetteth, doth also love those that are begotten of him; Love thinketh no Ill to Enemies, much less to Brethren: The Light leadeth his Children into Love, Peace and Unity with God, and one with another in the Life of Righteousness; oh the unity the unity of Brethren in the Light, Love and Life of God is exceeding precious and comely, it's compared like to precious Oil, poured on the Head, that runs down on the Beard, even Aaron's Beard, that went down to the skirts of his Garment, and like the dew of Hermon, and like the dew that descended upon the Mountain of Zion, where the Blessing is, and where the Lord maketh unto his People a Feast of fat things: The Light teacheth, and maketh to be of one Heart, of one Mind, of one Soul, and (in all those that walk in it) begetteth one consent to serve and worship the only wise God, in the one Spirit and one Truth: The Light giveth a good Understanding, a clear Discerning, a sound Judgement: The Light leadeth not into strife and contention, nor into rents▪ divisions and parties, nor into a particularity and self-separation from the Body, nor into self-conceitedness, nor into high airy notions, nor into a climbing up in imaginations after high discoveries; (and so slight the day of small things, and neglect thy obedience to the present gift, through an expectation of something greater to come yet unrevealed; and such, like Lucifer, mounts high in their Conceits and Imaginations, but will fall to the side of the Pit;) but the Light condemns all this, and judges that Spirit that leadeth thereinto; which Spirit soweth Discord among Brethren, which is Abomination; and that Spirit leadeth some to speak evil of Dignities, and to despise Dominion, and to rebel against the Order and Government of the Lamb: The Light judgeth that Spirit that setteth up, and keepeth up (out of the comely descent order of Truth) that thing that tends to strife and breaking unity among Brethren: The Light teacheth those that love it, to seek and endeavour for Love, Peace and Unity among Brethren, with all Self-denial: The Light teacheth to take away the occasion of stumbling in thy Brother's way: The Light teacheth to be very wary and careful of giving Enemy's advantage to strengthen themselves against Truth, and the Wicked occasion to reproach it, and those that live in it: The Light teaches to live and walk in a holy godly Life, and blameless Conversation, as becometh the Gospel of Truth, and as becometh Saints of the Most High: The Light, in those that love it, crucifieth the Flesh with the lusts and affections thereof, and teacheth those that love it, how to possess their Vessels in Sanctification and Honour: The Light crucifieth the Heart unto the World and worldly things, and redeemeth the Mind from the Earth and earthly things: and teacheth to use the World as if thou usedst it not: The Light draweth the Mind out of the many things (where all offend) into the one thing needful, which giveth not, nor receiveth an offence, but judges the offences, and that ground from whence they come: The Light is Supernatural, and is to overrule the Naturals, and to keep them within the bonds of the Government of Truth, and to limit the affectionate part from leading and drawing the Heart and Mind into things below, into created Objects, and into Bondage to the cares of this Life, and troubles and cumbrances of this World, which doth not profit but hinder to God-ward: The Light is the Girdle of the Loins, of the Mind, of those that love it, to gird up their Hearts and Minds unto God, that in him their peace may be perfect: The Light is a stop to those Thoughts which are reprovable by it: The Light is a Bridle to the Tongue, and they that know it so to be, dare not say (in a self-will) our Tongues are our own, and we will speak: The Light ruleth over the Souls and Bodies of those that believe in, love, follow and obey it, and teacheth and enableth such to yield their Members Servants of Righteousness unto God, even as they have (when they were Servants to Sin) yielded their Members Servants to Unrighteousness, and of Iniquity unto Iniquity: The Light is the Author of the true and living Faith, which giveth victory over the World, and is a shield unto the Soul to fend off the fiery darts of the Devil, and worketh by Love to the purifying of the Heart: The Light is the Author to the true Hope, which is an Anchor unto the Soul, sure and steadfast, and is held in a pure Conscience void of Offence towards God and Man: The Light is the Author of true Patience, long Suffering, Forbearance, Forgiveness and Contentedness; it teacheth to be patiented in all Trials, Tribulations, Troubles Straits and Difficulties, and teacheth in all conditions to be contented, and not to murmur against the Lord whatsoever he permit to come to pass: The Light teacheth his Children to love one another fervently, with a clean heart; oh, how good is God to Israel, to them that are of a clean heart: The Light teacheth to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace: The Light teacheth the Younger to yield and submit themselves to the Elder, in the Lord, and to hearken unto Counsel, Instruction and Reproof; he teacheth all his Children to be subject one to another; he them with Humility, ado●neth them with Meekness, and beautifies them with lowliness of Spirit: The Light teacheth the Strongest to condesend to the Weakest, and to serve the Meanest in Love, to bear with the infirmities of the Feeble, to help and hold up the Halting, and to draw forward the backward with the Cords of Love, and to cast a Garment over thy Brother's Nakedness: The Light in those that love it, puts out the eye that watcheth for evil, and condemneth that part that boasteth itself, and rejoiceth at another's fall, and strengthens itself with prejudice against another through his failing, which thing is as most abominable filth in the pure eye of the Light: The Light doth not countenance evil in any, but judges and discovers it, though hid under a profession of Truth The Light is like unto the Touchstone that tries Silver from Tin, it tryeth and discovereth the Good from the Bad; it tryeth Motions, Thoughts, Words, Works and Spirits: The Light is a Stone which God hath laid in Zion, Elect and Precious, which they that believe, shall not be ashamed, and unto those that believe he is very Precious; but unto them that believe not, he is as a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence, at whom the seeming wise Master-Builders have, and do stumble; and he whom t●●●ise Professors of this Age, and great Rabbis, and Learned Orators set at nought, the same is become the Head and Chief Corner Stone in God's House; by the virtue of which Stone they that b●●ieve in him are quickened, and made living Stones; meet to be joined unto him (the Light) in whom the Building being fitly framed together, groweth up unto an holy Temple in the Lord: The Light was in the beginning before the Darkness was, and is now made manifest to extinguish the Darkness, and to fill the dark corners of the Earth with the bright beams of his Glory; he is the First and the Last; he was before Time, and will remain when that which in time is passed away: The Light is the Beginning and the End, the Foundation and Top-stone, the Root and Offspring of David, and the Bright Morningstar, whose blessed Day Abraham saw, and was glad; he dwelled among the seven golden Candlesticks, and was with the Church in the Wilderness, in the days of old: He is the Light of the holy City, New-Jerusalem, which John (in the Lord's Day) saw coming down from God, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband: The Light giveth the Churches to know, that it is he that searcheth the Heart, and tryeth the Reins, from whom no Hypocrite in Sio● can be hid; who said, I come quickly, and my Reward is with me, to give unto every one according as his Work But who shall abide the Day of his Coming, (in which the Heavens pass away with a great noise, and the Elements melt with fervent heat) and who shall stand when he appeareth, who is like Refiners Fire, and like Fuller's Soap, purifying his Sanctuary, and cleansing his Temple in which he delights to dwell? He is the Word that was in the beginning, by whom all things were made that was made; and in him there is Life, and his Life is the Light of men; and he is the true L●ght that lighteth every man that cometh into the World; he is the Express Image of his Father's Glory, and is called the Son of God, in whom dwelleth all fullness of Joy, Happiness and Eternal Felicity; who is God over all, and above all, blessed, blessed for ever and evermore, Amen. W. B. OH, happy and blessed are the People, who though they once were Darkness, yet now are Light in the Lord; Oh, walk ye, oh, walk ye as Children of the Light bearing the pure Image of the Father of Lights, in whom is no Darkness at all, nor variableness or shadow of turning; but is the same yesterday, so to day, and for evermore. FRiends that are Sufferers upon Truth's account in Edmondsbury Goal, are in a measure of health (through the Love, Goodness and Mercy of the Lord, blessed and magnified be his Name) this 7th day of the 10th Month 1667. and their dear love in the precious Truth dearly reaches forth unto all faithful Friends every where, and you are often in their remembrance, desiring the Lord may prosper you, and bless you with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord, and keep you with us, and the whole Israel of God, by his Almighty Power through Faith in his Name, unto his Heavenly Kingdom, and enable us all to finish the work the Lord hath given us (by his Power) to do; that we may glorify him on Earth, that he may glorify us with himself, with that glory he had before the World began; even so be it; and Amen faith my Soul. To Friends, Sufferers in Norwich-Castle. DEar Suffering Lambs, whom the Wolves seek to Rend and Devour, in the tender Love of the great Shepherd and Bishop of your Souls, is my heart opened to you, to visit you with a few Lines, and in the name of my God and your God, my Father and your Father, I say unto you, he whom you serve hath seen your Afflictions, and hath beheld your Sufferings, and hath took notice of your Burdens, and cognizence of your grievous Oppressions, and hath heard your Groan, and hath beheld your Tears; he assuredly will in his own time rebuke your Enemies, and plead your innocent Cause with your Oppressors, and ease you of, and free you from your great Afflictions; therefore, dear suffering Lambs of my heavenly Father, lift up your Heads in the Name of the Lord God, and take Courage and be Strong in his Power and Truth which is in you, and with you, and on your sides, and it is the Truth that shall prevail against all its Enemies, and its Opposers shall be Confounded, and the Truth of our God shall Flourish over all; therefore, dear Hearts, still cleave to the precious Truth of God made known unto you, and let nothing separate you from it; oh, blessed be the Lord that he hath begotten such a Love in you to him and his Truth, that such is your love thereunto, that you are willing to undergo Reproaches, Abuses and spoiling of your Goods, Imprisonment, and to be separated from your Friends and Relations for Truth's sake; oh, dear Lambs, great is your Reward if you abide to the end, and faint not in well doing; oh, my heart is open to you in the tender Love and Bowels of Emanuel, and my soul is refreshed in your Faithfulness, and though many of your Faces I never saw, yet I am one with you in your Sufferings, wherein my soul simpathiseth with you, and hath unity with your Testimony for the Lord, and my spirit doth praise the Lord, the God of your Salvation, on your behalf, in that he hath so mightily upheld you, and born you up in his Arms, in the midst of your Trials; though you of yourselves are Weak, yet the Lord is Strong, whose Strength you know by experience is manifested in Weakness; therefore trust hope and depend you upon the Lord forever, who is and will be your exceeding great reward; cast your care upon him, for he your God careth for you and yours; he is a Father to the Fatherless, and a Husband to the Widow, he is the Comforter of the Comfortless, and gladeth the heavy hearted. Oh, be still, quiet, patiented and contented in your Minds; and wait upon the Lord, and be not at all terrified by your Adversaries; but in the lowly fear of the Lord God rejoice in that he hath counted you worthy, not only to believe, but to suffer for his Name sake; oh, your Reward no man can take away, as you continue faithful to the Lord; dear Lambs, my Bowels yearn towards you, and in the Father's love I salute you, desiring that Grace, Mercy and Peace may rest upon you, and the blessing of the most High distil upon you as due upon the tender Herbs, that you, ye tender Plants, may grow and be like Willows by the Water Courses, and as Cedars by the River's side, that your Leaf may not whither, neither cease bearing Fruit; so dear suffering Lambs, as none is to be (through Joy) Exalted above what is meet, so none (through Sorrow) is to be Dejected, or cast down, but every one, in all Conditions, is to learn to be Contented with the will of the Lord, and none to murmur against the Lord, because of the Prosperity of the Wicked, and Advancement of Zions Enemies; for though they seem to Flourish like a green Bay-Tree, yet they will become like Grass upon the House top, that withereth before it is grown up. So unto the Lord God I commit you, who careth for all his, and is a present help in the time of need, and leaveth not his Sheep and Lambs when the Wolves come to Devour; but he the mighty God standeth by his People, and sighteth for mount Zion, and defends the Hills thereof, and will put to flight her Enemies, and with the Breath of his Mouth expel and scatter the Clouds, Fogs and Mists that ariseth out of the bottomless pit of Darkness; that then, oh Zion, thy Glory may appear as the Morning without Clouds, and as the Sun in its Brightness thy Beauty may shine forth, and thy Enemies be Astonished and Confounded forever. This is the salutation of my Love, who am your Fellow Sufferer and Companion, in the Patience and Tribulation of Jesus, the Lord God be with you, and support the weak and little ones among you, and keep you all Faithful to the end, and preserve you in Love and Unity one with another, Amen, saith my soul. Bury Goal▪ 1669. William Bennit. Dear Beloved Friend's, Brethren and Sisters in the Heavenly Spiritual Relation of the Immortal Incorruptible Seed of Life Eternal, of which you are born again, and become Heirs of an Inheritance that is Everlasting, by Faith in Christ Jesus, in and from whom Joy and Peace, Mercy and Grace be multiplied in and unto all your Souls, Amen. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through his abundant Mercy and free Grace hath called us, and with the Arms of his Everlasting Kindness hath gathered us, and by his Almighty Power hath raised us up, to be unto him a People, to live unto him in his Life, and to walk before him in Truth and Righteousness, and to Serve and Worship him in his own Way and Spirit, and to bear Testimony thereunto, and against the contrary, in Word and Doctrine, in Life and Conversation; and for our Testimonies sake the Nations are angry with us, and the Earth is moved, and the Waters troubled, and swell against us, as if we should be swollowed up, and wholly overwhelmed with the Floods of the Wrath of the Dragon, who seeks to drown the blessed and glorious appearance of the man Child; who is to rule the Nations in Justice, in Mercy, in Judgement, in Righteousness and Truth; well, my dear Friends, though at this day we are a suffering People, and as it were Killed all the day long, and appointed Sheep for the Slaughter, and are set as a prey for the Beast of the Field, and Lions of the Forest, and though the Jaws of Death, and Gates of Hell seem to be opened wide against us, as if we should be swallowed up quick, and be extinguished from being a People; yet notwithstanding we can rejoice in the Lord our God, because our sufferings are infflicted upon us not for evil doing, but for well doing, and our Enemies have found no just Cause given them of us, thus to give us up to the Spoilers, and into the hands of Wicked, Ungodly, Unreasonable men; but altogether without a Cause given of us, have they taken an occasion against us (as Daniel's Persecutors did against him) concerning the Law, Commands and Worship of our God, so that at this day our God knows it, Angels and Men know it, and our Enemies one day shall be made to know it to their sorrow, that we are a Suffering Persecuted People, singly for our Conscience towards God, and for our Obedience and Faithfulness to him; therefore, my dearly beloved Ones, rejoice in the Lord, and lift up your Heads in his Name, over all the Wrath and Cruelty of the Ungodly, and think not strange concerning the Fiery Trials that are come to try you, and to prove your Love to God his Way and Truth, as though some strange thing had happened unto you; but rejoice in the lowly fear of the Lord, inasmuch as you are made partakers of the Sufferings of the Seed, that when its glory shall be more and more revealed in and upon your Souls, you may rejoice with exceeding Joy, in that you suffer on God's account, not as Murderers and Evil doers; but as true Christians, and Followers of Christ Jesus, and true Worshippers of the God of Daniel in Spirit and in Truth. And my dear Friends, if ye suffer the spoiling of your Goods, Bonds, Banishment or Death for meeting together in the Fear and Name of the Lord, to wait upon him, and for performing you Duty and Obedience unto him, and for keeping of your Consciences void of offence towards him, truly the Cause is good, and worth the suffering for, it is not our own Cause, but the Lords; therefore let us commit it unto him unto whom we c●n make our Appeal, and spread our Complaint before him, and pour forth our Cries unto him who se●th our Troubles, and beholdeth the grievous Oppression, and manifold Burdens, Afflictions and Sufferings of his Poor, Abused, Tribulated, Persecuted People, whose innocent Cause he the Almighty Jevovah, of worm Jacob, will assuredly plead for them, against their Enemies, and woe will be to the Oppressors and Spoilers of God's Heritage. Dear suffering Lambs, cast your Care upon the Lord, he careth for you, and for your little ones, and hold fast Faith and a good Conscience, whatever you suffer, hold fast the Truth you have received that none may take your Crown of Joy, Comfort, Peace and Blessing from you, and keep in the meekness, patience and long suffering of Jesus, suffering the spoiling of your Goods Joyfully, glorifying the Lord in suffering, according to his will, giving him Thanks and Praise, instead of Murmuring, that he hath counted you worthy not only to Believe, but also to Suffer for his blessed Name sake, knowing in yourselves you have in Heaven a far better enduring substance; therefore cast not away your Faith, Hope and Confidence which hath such great Recompense of Reward; but truly Friends you have need to abide in the patiented long suffering Spirit of Jesus, that after you have done the will of God, and suffered for the same, you may receive the Promise; if any man faint, and turn back, he loses his reward of his sufferings; but I hope, my dear Friends, you are not of the number of those that turn back unto Perdition, but of them that believe, and receive the end of your hope, even the Salvation of your Souls. And dear Friends; take Courage, and put on Strength, and lift up your Heads in the Name of the Lord, who is with his People, and from them he will not go, he is on our side, and taketh our part, we know it, and our Enemies will feel it to their sorrow, he will fight for us, let us hold our peace, and be still from reasoning with Flesh and Blood, though he suffer us to be tried, as Gold is tried in the Fire, yet not wholly to be Destroyed, after he hath done such great things for us, and appeared on our behalf, and hath manifested himself to be our God, and we to be his People, and after he hath Blessed us, and Prospered us, and Preserved us through all the Wrath and Cruelty of men hitherto, and now hath made us a Family like a Flock, and put his Jewels upon us, and Clothed us with the Garment of Salvation, and Arrayed us with the Robe of Righteousness, and Beautified us with his Comeliness, and Betrothed us unto Himself, in Mercy, in Judgement, in Righteousness and in Truth; will he now suffer us wholly to be extinguished from being a People? shall our Enemies have their full desires of us, to root us out wholly from amongst them, that they may blaspheme our God, and say he was not able to Deliver them out of our hand? surely no, remember what Balack King of Moab had Consulted, & what Balaam Son of Beor answered him, even from Shittim unto Gilgal, that you may know the Righteousness of the Lord, who keepeth Covenant with his People, neither doth his tender Compassions fail unto the House of Jacob; therefore let us trust in the God of our hope; who delivered Just Lot from the vexation of the wicked Sodomites, and his Poor Oppressed Israel out of the hand of cruel Pharaoh; who delivered David from the paw of the Bear, and the paw of the Lion, and from the hand of the uncircumcised Philistine; who delivered Daniel out of the Lyonsden, and the three Children out of the Fiery Furnace; good Jeremiah out of the low miry Dungeon, and ●●ul and Silas out of the Prisonhouse; he the Living God, whose Arm is not shortened, nor abated in Strength, Power and Might, will assuredly deliver his oppressed People at this day, in his own time, when he hath tried them throughly, and hath Purged his Gold, and refined his Silver, and separated the Chaff from his Wheat, and made up his precious Jewels, and manifested the approved in his sight, then will he arise, as in Mount Paron, and be wrath, as in the Valley of Gideon; to bring to pass his Work, his strange Work, at the hearing thereof, the Ears of many doth and shall Tingle, and the Heathen be Astonished and Confounded, and fall before the glorious Majesty of the God of worm Jacob; then shall ●ion Rejoice, and Israel be right Glad, and the Mourners be Comforted, and the heavy Hearts be Refreshed, and the Oppressed Delivered from the Yoke. The Lord God Almighty hasten the Accomplishment of his own Work, in his own time, to his own Glory and Renown, Amen. So my dearly beloved Friends, my heart is open to you, and my Soul simpathises with you in your Sufferings, and my Cries and Prayers are to the Lord for you, knowing that great and many are your Trials that doth attend many of you; poor hearts, how willingly could I help you. But unto the Lord the Great Shepherd and Bishop of your Souls, the Keeper of the Flock of Israel, I must commit you, and resign you up to him who careth for you, and watcheth over you, and intends good unto you; for he loveth you, though he suffers hard things to befall you, which will work for your good, and bring many of you more nearer to the Lord, and make you more and more like him; that though the Hills shall be removed, and the Mountains departed, yet his Everlasting Kindness shall not be removed, neither the Covenant of his Peace be taken from you his People, that keep Covenant with him your God; so the Almighty be with you, in all your Trials and Temptations, and his Arms of tender mercy bear up all the Weak and Little Ones among you, whose desires are Upright before him, that none such may fall through the Fury of the Adversary, and Temptations of the Enemy; but that you all may be kept by the power of your God, through Faith in his Everlasting Name, to the end, to finish your Testimony in Faithfulness, with Joy, to his Glory, and your Endless Peace, Happiness and Felicity in him the God of your Hope, Amen. The God of Peace be with you, and Comfort you with his Love; oh, Lord God Everlasting, keep all thy dear People in this hour and power of Darkness, hid them in the hollow of thy Hand, and let the Banner of thy Love be over them, dispose of them, O Lord, as seemeth good unto thee; only let not thy Faithfulness to them, and their Faith to thee be wanting, and let them be tendered by thee, as the first Fruits unto thee, after the long Night of Apostasy, that eclipsed thy Glory from the face of the Earth: My dear love remains with you; Farewell dear Friends. Edmond●▪ Bury common Goal this 8th. of the fifth Month. From your true Friend and Brother, in the Patient Suffering for the Testimony of Jesus. William Bennit. THE Work and Mercy of GOD Conducing to his Praise; Or a Demonstration of the Visitation of God's Love to my Soul in the days of my Youth; Being a Testimony of the Light of Christ in the Conscience, which discovereth and judgeth Sin; also (if loved and obeyed) saveth from Sin, and redemeeth the Soul unto God. Published in bowels of pity and love to all those that have desires after the Way of Truth, and are yet seeking it abroad in their Imaginations, and are mourning and groaning under the burden and weight of Sin; hoping and desiring (that if the Lord will) such may meet with some encouragement and direction hereby, for them to turn their minds into the Light of Christ in themselves, and in it to believe, and wait for power over, and freedom from Sin, that true lasting peace in God they may come to witness, to the true and full satisfaction of their Souls. All thiags that are reproved, are made manifest by the Light; for whatsoever doth make manifest is Light, etc. That which may be known of God is manifest in them, etc. Wherewith shall a Young man cleanse hi● way? by taking he●d thereunto according to thy Word; thy Word I have hid in my Heart, etc. Eph. 5. 13, etc. Rom. 1. 16. Psal. 1. 19 9, 11. When I was but young in Years, the Lord God (of Light, Life and Power, of tender Love, of infinite Compassion and everlasting bowels of Mercy) was pleased then (in some measure) to visit me by or with his pure Light in my own Conscience, which many a time did check and reprove me for my Sins, and brought my Evil-doing to my remembrance, and judged me in my own Heart for Evil, and sometimes brought trouble upon my Mind for my Sins, but I was not then sensible that it was the Light of Christ Jesus (who is the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the World) which then in my own Conscience did check, reprove and judge me for Evil, and sometimes broke my false ease and rest in Sin; insomuch as I could not go on in Sin, Wildness and Vanity, without being somewhat troubled, terrified and reproved for my Sin at one time or other; though when I was among idle Children, voic of the fear of God, I ran into Sin and Wickedness with them; and for the present time, I acted in Sin with great Delight and Joy; but when I came to be still, quiet and alone in the Fields, or elsewhere; then would the pure Witness of God arise in me with its reproofs, and set my Sins in order before me, and brought my Evil Do to my remembrance, which I had acted out of the pure fear of the Lord God, and then Trouble for a time took hold on me, and Sin became my burden; but I soon got from under that Burden, at Ease and Liberty again, and ran into Sin and Vanity again; and thus year after year I went on in rebellion against the Witness of God in my own Conscience, taking delight and pleasure in those things I knew were Evil; yet the Lord God (whose tender Bowels of Pity and Compassion did then in Mercy hover over me for good to me in that day) did sometimes stop me from speaking and acting that Evil I intended to speak or do, & preserved me out of many gross Evils, which many others were addicted unto, and overcome with. And in those days when I was alone in the Fields I cried and prayed unto the Lord, and desires were stirring in me after the knowledge of him, his Way and Truth; but I prayed to a God I knew not; I imagined a God afar off; and did not then know it was the Lord that did search my Heart, and discovered unto me my Thoughts, and judged me for Sin; I than knew not that that was the Light, Way and Truth of God in my own Heart, which sometimes begot desires in me to know the Truth, and to walk therein; but my mind was abroad (as it is with many at this day, who have desires after Truth and Righteousness, but are seeking abroad in Carnal Ordinances, Forms, Likenesses, Beggarly Elements, Rudiments of the World, Ceremonies and Traditions of men) and knew not that that in me was Truth, which sometimes stopped me from Lying and Swearing; and when I knowingly told a Lie, it would accuse me, when no man could accuse me for it; and as I grew in years, for I may truly say, there was something stirring in me (at times) after the Lord ever since I was 6 or 7 years of Age, and when I came to be about 14 years old, and to be a Prentice, and in outward Thraldom and Bondage, it pleased the God of infinite lovingkindness, to visit me more than formerly, by his pure Light and Spirit, which increased in striving with me daily, that I scarce knowingly committed any Evil, but the Light would soon judge me for it; yea, the Lord God with his pure Light and Gift did pursue me hard, and followed me close, calling to me in my Heart, with his still Voice, to come out of Sin, out of evil Words and Works; but I (like Samuel when he was a Child) knew not that it was the Lord that did call; for he was (though near me) as a Stranger to me; and I knew not his Voice, but went astray as a wandering Sheep, yet had I desires to know the way to the ●old, and to know where the Lord feedeth his Flock, and causeth them to lie down in Peace, Quietness & Rest, where none can make afraid; for indeed it was Rest my Soul wanted, and true Peace in God my Soul many a time longed for, and panted after; for, oh, I was oftentimes wounded, wounded, wounded because of Sin, and for want of the enjoyment of the Love and Peace of God, I went many a time bowed down in Spirit day after day, with an a king Mind, grieved Soul and wounded Conscience, with my Eyes full of Tears, and my Heart full of Sighing, thinking in my Heart there was few (if any) in my State and Condition; sometimes wishing, and saying in my Heart, Oh, that I were in a desert solitary place outwardly (for so was my condition inwardly) where no man inhabits, where I might have Mourned and Wept out my fill, and have poured out my Tears unto the tender God of tender Bowels of Mercy, and have spread my Complaints before him whom my Soul did then sometimes, in measure, long, thirst and pant after, even as the Hart panteth after the water Brooks: And many a time I did get into a solitary place to ease my Heart a little, in pouring out my Tears and Complaints to the Lord; for in those days many were my Prayers and Tears, for great was the burden and load which I oftentimes went under day after day, which made me cry Night and Day to the Lord for Peace and Rest; yet I then, not knowing that it was the Light of Christ in my Conscience, that did break my Rest and Peace in Sin, neither knew it to be a stay to the Mind, and a bridle to my Tongue; I many a time got into a false ease and liberty, in idleness and wildness of Youth, but it was broke again, and Sorrow and Trouble would take hold on my Mind, and true Desires would again be Renewed in me after the Lord, and breathing and thirsting after Righteousness; and oh, my Heart and Soul was many a time made tender and soft; and oh, pity, pity and tender bowels of compassion was in me towards any that I thought was in my condition, and a tender love was hid in my Heart towards those that I then thought were the People of God; and I can truly say, my Bowels and Heart is open still, and oftentimes Pity, Love, Compassion and Tenderness issues forth in me towards those that now are in that condition I then was in; oh, my Soul, my Soul cannot but in some measure sympathize with them, and in Spirit bear a part of their Burdens and Sorrows in my Bosom, & that not without some secret cries in my Heart unto the tender God of Bowels of Pity on their behalf; and partly for their sakes is this published, hoping (that if the Lord will) it may be of service unto some of them, and if the Lord order it so to be to them, or any, then will my end herein be answered thereby. And in those days I frequented the Meetings of the People called Independants (viz.) William Bredges' Congregation in great Yarmouth, whom I then thought were the People of God, and yet I then saw that many of their Lives and Conversations, even some of the chief of them were not consistant with what they professed in words; and when I have been amongst them in the time of their singing Psalms, the pure Witness of God in my own Heart hath (as it were) stopped my Mouth that I could not Sing with them; but my Heart in the time of their singing was broken into tenderness, and many were the tears of my Eyes; and verily my outward ●an, or earthen Vessel, hath quaked and trembled (this was before I was by Scorners called a Quaker, or had seen any of those People) and shaken like a Leaf that is shaken with the Wind (which might be a sign of that shaking, which since the Lord hath suffered to come upon ☞ them, which hath almost shattered and scattered them, who will shake all sandy Foundations, and blast all Professions that are out of the Light and Power of God) by the working of the Light and Power of God in my Heart, though I then knew not that it was the Power of God that brought such a trembling upon me, and that did in some measure let me see, that it was not then a time of singing for me; for I was the● in a strange Land, in the Land of Captivity, and could not sing the Song of Zion, which I may truly say (not in the least enmity towards the People; for my Soul beareth love and good will towards all men, and desire to tender and own the least true appearance of God in any) they were ignorant of, who were then singing what others had prescribed and made ready for them; I than wanted the enjoyment of the Love, Joy, Peace and sweet Presence of God, which maketh glad the Hearts of the Righteous, and causeth the lowly, meek and upright to sing (in the Spirit with understanding) for joy; not that Song, or Songs, or Psalms which men have invented by their human Wisdom, (from which Wisdom the Mysteries of God's Kingdom is obscured and concealed) but the new and living Song, which the Dead cannot sing, but the Living that are raised and redeemed out of, and from the Earth, and from amongst men, even the ransomed of the Lord, that are returned from Babylon unto Mount Zion, whereon they stand with the Lamb, whom they have followed through many Tribulations; and have not loved their Lives unto Death; and have washed their Garments, and made them white in his Blood, in and by whom they are become Virgins; and have cast of all old Lovers, and are not defiled with the Woman Jezabel; but through the Lamb have gotten Victory over the Whore, Beast and false Prophet, and in the Heavenly Dominion of the Lamb (by whom they are made more than Conquerors) do they stand on the Sea of Glass mingled with Fire, with the Harps of God, and can sing a new Song of praise and thanksgiving unto him that was dead, but is alive, and lives for evermore. And in all the times of my trouble of mind, and travel of Spirit I never made known how it was with me, nor declared my condition to any Creature, though never so intimate with them, but kept it secret in my Heart, pouring out my complaints to God, but not unto any man, yet I could gladly have had some to have known how it was with me; but I was straitened in myself, and kept it in obscurity; and in those days I knew not what it was that wrought and strove with me, and did so frequently judge and reprove me for Sin, and gave me power over many Evils which others were overcome withal, and raised strong desires in me after the Lord, and discovered unto me the thoughts of my Heart, I say, I knew not then what it was, I was then not sensible that it was the Light of Christ Jesus, or a measure of the Spirit of Truth; neither did I then know I should have taken heed thereunto, as unto a Light shining in a dark place, until the Day had more and more dawned; and until Christ the Daystar had arisen in my Heart, over all my Enemies; but my mind was still gazing abroad, and imagining a God afar off, and he was very nigh me, but I knew him not, but was hunting abroad in my Imaginations for that which was within me, the Pearl of great Price was hid in my Heart, but I knew it not, the Kingdom of God was at hand, but I was gazing for it abroad, whilst it (in measure) was working in my Heart, like Leaven hid in three measures of Meal, etc. the Door into the Fold, the Entrance into Rest was within, but I was seeking it abroad; my Saviour was nigh, but I imagined him afar off, and knew him not nigh; neither did any man in those days direct my mind unto the Light and Gift of Christ in my own Heart: And as for the Teachers of the People, even they in the highest Profession of God in words, were ready (they being so ignorant and unsensible of the Gift of God in themselves) to speak Blasphemy of the pure spiritual Light of Christ within (as many Professors do at this day, yet notwithstanding make a large Profession and Confession of Christ in Words, though in Works deny him) and to say, that which troubles a man for his sins is a temptation of Satan, and thereby instead of directing the mind to the Light, draw away the mind more from the Light, and such are blind, and are under the woe, that call Light Darkness, Good Evil, and are in that Spirit they were, who (though great Professors) said concerning Christ, He is Mad, and hath a Devil, why hear ye him? but as some than replied, and said, Are these the works of him that hath a Devil? Can the Devil open the Eyes of the Blind? so I may say, Is it the Devils work to discover Sin, and judge, condemn and trouble a man (in the unconverted state) for Sin? or is it not his work to lull People a sleep in Sin, and to cry peace to them in their Iniquities, and to keep them satisfied with a profession of God without the possession of a holy undefiled Life? Is it his work to destroy his own Kingdom, which is Sin? surely, no, that is only and alone the Work of Christ, the Light of the World, made manifest within to destroy the Devil and his works; he brings Trouble upon the Transgressor and ministers Judgement against the Evil doer; he kindles a Fire in the earthly Heart, and raiseth Trouble, Wars and great Tribulation within, before he be known to be the Prince of Peace, the Sabbath, the everlasting Rest for the Soul. And now I know infallibly that that which in those days did bring trouble upon me for my Sins, and checked and judged for Evil, and begat good desires in me after the Lord, was the pure Witness of God, the manifestation of his Spirit, the Light of his Son Christ Jesus, a measure of his free Grace and Truth in my own Heart; and if ten Thousand should assert or affirm the contrary, I know their Testimony will be a Lye. But, oh, alas for me! after all this long Visitation of the Love, Goodness and Mercy of the Lord to my Soul; and after all this trouble of Mind, travel of Spirit, desiring and seeking after the Lord; I got, oh, I got into a false ease in the fleshly Nature, and in a wrong liberty and false security, (as it is with many Professors at this day, who once were low, broken and tender in Heart, mourning under the load and burden of of Sin, having sincere desires to serve God in holiness of Life, who are now gotten into the form and likeness of that they then hungered and thirsted after, and are therewith satisfied, and feeding themselves with others Words, and without Knowledge, without Life, and so are gotten at ease in the Pride, Fashions and Vanity of the World, and are at liberty in the Flesh, counting it their Freedom to do those things that once was their Burden and Bondage) and I became careless, and by disobedience I quenched the strive of the Light of Christ in me, insomuch as the Burden, Trouble and Sorrow which once lay heavy upon my Mind, I felt little of, although the Original and real cause which occasioned the Burden, Sorrow and Trouble (which was my sins) was not taken away, but augmented, and I through Rebellion had almost murdered the just and holy one in me, and had so grieved and wounded the Spirit of the Lord, that it had almost ceased striving with me, though at sometimes it would bring former things to my remembrance; and then some trouble and sorrow would seize upon me for a time; but I soon got over it again, and turned from the Grace into Wantonness, and so forgot the Lord, whom I had formerly desired and sought after, and my Heart ran a whoring after my old Lovers, with my Face turned back again to Egypt (the Land of Darkness, Wickedness, the Bondage-House of Sin and Corruption) which before was partly turned towards Canaan, the Land of Light, Life and Rest, and so ran into such Evils as I had formerly been kept out of by a secret Power, which I then knew not, and I grew wanton, careless and wicked, and my Mind and Heart taken off seeking the Lord, and run into, and after the Vanity, Pleasures and Idleness of the World, delighting much in Music and Dancing, Sporting and Gaming, and so made merry over the pure Witness of God, by sinning and rebelling against it, and by rejecting its reproof and strive; Oh, oh, the patience and long-suffering of the Lord was large towards me in that day, who long waited to be Gracious to my Soul Day after Day, Year after Year, who in his Justice might have cut me off in my Sins and Rebellion, and even have made me an Example of his Wrath; but oh, his mercy, his mercy and long-suffering was exceeding large to me, which by my Soul is not to be forgotten; but in and by the Spirit of Truth (which brings former things to my remembrance, and showeth things to come) am I to be kept in a living sense and remembrance of the great mercy, long-patience, long-forbearance and long-suffering of the Lord God of Compassion towards me, and in the sense thereof he is worthy to be praised and honoured by my Soul, who would not that I should perish from his presence forever: For after all this the Lord, the tender God of tender bowels of compassion, was pleased to visit my poor Soul again, even for his pure Seeds sake, which he had not forgotten; but he remembered the Poor and Needy, the Captive exile, to deliver him out of the hand of him that was too strong for him, and to lose him, that he might not wholly die in the Pit, and perish in the miry Clay; and Gods precious Truth, & pure Way of Righteousness, and everlasting Gospel of Light, Life and Peace I heard preached and declared by his precious Servants (who were and are by scoffing Ishmael's Brood, in scorn called Quakers, whom I now own in the Lord) and the pure Witness of God in my own Heart bore Testimony to the Truth declared by them; but long it was after I was in some measure convinced of the Truth, before I steely gave up my Heart to obey the Truth; but the Lord in time did overcome my Heart by the Power of his Love, his unspeakable Love, and made me willing to resign up my Heart in obedience to him, and this Truth, and to bow down to the Yoke, and to take up the daily Cross, which I learned by loving and taking heed to the Light, and to despise the Shame, and to follow the Lord in that way (viz. the Light which before had judged me for Sin, begat desires in m● to know the Way) which I knew not while my mind was abroad, and knew not the Lord nigh, who now teacheth and guideth me by his Light and Spirit in the way of Truth and Righteousness, wherein I have found Peace, Rest and true satisfaction for my Soul, and witness my Teacher nigh, though it hath been my portion, with many other Berthren, sometimes to eat the Bread of Adversity, and to drink the Water of Affliction, yet my Teacher and Comforter can none remove from me; but he is and hath been with me in the Prison house, and in the low Dungeon; so that which now keeps me in Peace and Unity with the Lord, and in Fellowship with his People, the same thing (and not another) was it that did formerly check, reprove and judge me for Evil, and brought trouble upon me for my Sins, and that raised desires in me after the Lord, as I have explicated in the foregoing Lines, though I deny not but that I have now a greater measure of Light and Grace than I had then; yet the Light (in quality and nature) is the same; for although the Light or Seed of the Kingdom (which consisteth of Joy, Peace and Righteousness in the Holy Ghost) be in the unbeliever and unconverted, even as the least of all other Seeds, yet nevertheless, where or in whomsoever it be received in the Faith, Love and Obedience of it, in such it grows and increases until it become the greatest in them, and under its shadow they come to sit with great delight, and its Fruit becomes sweet to their taste; and as a little Leaven in three measures of Meal, it worketh and operateth in the Hearts and Minds of those that believe in the Light, until it hath wrought out the old leaven of Malice, Sin and Corruption, and leavened the Heart and Soul into its own nature, frame and quality; so the same Light which did condemn me for Sin when I was in disobedience to it, the sam● hath and doth save me from Sin, and now justifies me as I am kept in the Faith and Obedience of it, and now it ministers Peace and Rest unto me, and before it ministered Trouble and Condemnation: So this I assert and affirm experimentally for an unerrable invincible Truth, (against all the Opposers, Gainsayers, Fighters and Undervaluers of the Light) viz. that the Light of Christ (who is the true Light that lighteth every one that cometh into the World) even in the Conscience of that man or woman that is in Unbelief, and in the Unconverted State, is one in nature and quality with the Light in that man or woman that is in the belief of it, and converted by it; and the Light of Christ in the Conscience of the Drunkard and Swearer, that doth check, judge and reprove him for his Sins, if it be believed in, loved and obeyed, is able to save him from his Sins; but that man or woman that loveth Evil and hateth the Light, and will not come to the Light, but reject it, such do not feel nor witness the saving healing virtue, and restoring redeeming power of the Light, but is only unto them a Judge and Condemner; but they that receive it in the love and belief thereof, such in, through and by the Light receive power to become the Sons of God, and joint Heirs with Christ of the Kingdom of God which endures forever. So blessed, blessed be the Lord my tender God, who is worthy, worthy to be praised, praised by my Soul in the sense of his Love, Goodness and Grace, whose Mercy hath been, and is wonderful towards me, unto whom be honour, glory, praise, thanksgiving and obedience for evermore. And my Soul having obtained mercy of the Lord, and having tasted of his Goodness and Graciousness, and experienced his Tender Fatherly Deal with and towards my Soul, my Heat is opened with Love and Good will to all People, Desiring their Good and Eternal Welfare in God. To those that are young in Years, etc. Mind thy Creator in the days of thy Youth, before the Evil day come, etc. Eccles. 12. 1. etc. ANd you who are yet young and tender in Years, mind the Light of Christ in your Consciences which checketh and reproveth for Evil, and idle words and works, and it will learn you (if you love it) to fear and mind the Creator in the days of your Youth, before the Evil days come, and the Years when ye shall say, We have no pleasure in them: Oh say not any of you, We are young, and have many Years yet to spend, wherefore we will take the pleasure and delights of our Youth, and seek the Lord afterward, and Repent when we are old, etc. But remember the Lord God your Maker giveth unto you Life, Breath and Being, and how soon he may cut the thread of your lives, and take you away from all your delights and vanities, you know not; for many he taketh away in their Youth: Wherefore trifle not away your precious time in Sin and Vanity, in vain Sports and Gameings, or any Wickedness, lest your Hearts come to be hardened in Ungodliness, and you grow old in Iniquity, and when it is too late you diligently seek repentance, but you find it not; wherefore take warning, and mind those things in time, before it be too late, that concern the eternal Peace, Rest, and Happiness of your immortal Soul, and first seek the Kingdom of God rather than the Riches, Glory and Honour of this World, which is all passing away, and will not help in the day of Calamity, and hour of Distress and Misery which will overtake the Wicked, and all those that forget God, as a Thief in the Night; therefore mind and fear the Lord your Maker, and take heed unto the Light in all your Consciences, which is pure and holy, and hath no unity with any evil thought, word or work, and love and believe in the Light, that you may become Children of the Light; if you love the Light it will save you from your Sins, and redeem you from a vain Conversation, and learn you to take up a daily Cross to your own Wills, Desires, Lusts and Affections, and to Yoke down the vain, wild, wanton corrupt Nature, that defileth and polluteth your Hearts and Minds, Lives and Conversations; and so you will come to be changed and born again of the Seed incorruptible, of the Word of God which is nigh in the Heart to be obeyed and done; but if you delight in evil doing, and hate the Light of Christ in your own Consciences, which judgeth you for Sin, and will not come to the Light, but live and abide in Darkness, and will not receive God's Counsel and Warnings, nor hearken unto his Reproofs, nor have none of his Ways, but will follow your own ways, wills and works, and fulfil the lusts and desires of your own Hearts, and vain devices and imaginations of your own Minds, and will not that the Light should rule over you, to govern you in the pure fear of the Lord, and to lead you into holiness of Life, to guide you into the way of Truth and Righteousness, then will the Light be your Condemnation, and leave you without excuse when the Lord renders unto you according to your Works, and the wages of Sin is Death, but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ: Therefore, dear People, love it and embrace it whilst it is near you, even knocking at the Door of your Hearts; oh, harken to it, and let it have place in your Hearts, and refuse not the Love and Mercy of the Lord tendered to you in the Light, nor harden not your Hearts against the eternal good, peace and happiness of your own Souls, lest the Day of your Visitation pass over, and the Night of everlasting Darkness, Sorrow, Misery and Calamity overtake you, and shut you up forever, To all People that live and delight in wickedness. The show of their Countenance doth witness against them, they declare their Sin like Sodom, and hid it not. Because I have called, and ye refused, etc. Ye have set at nought all my Counsel, and would have none of my Reproof, etc. I will laugh at your Calamity, and mock when your Fear cometh, etc. Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an Oven, and the Wicked, and they that do wickedly shall be as Stubble, etc. Now consider this all you that forget God, lest I tear you in Pieces, and there be none to deliver, Isa. 3. 9 Prov. 1. 24, 25, 26. Mal. 4. 1. Psal. 50. 22. AND you, oh People, that are void of the pure fear of the Lord God, and have given up your Hearts to work Wickedness with Greediness, who rush into Sin and Ungodliness, as the Horse rusheth into the Battle, and drinking up Iniquity, as the Ox drinketh in Water, taking pleasure in Unrighteousness, and delighting in Uncleanness, and wallowing in the Mire of your own Filthiness and Corruption, fulfilling the Lusts of your unclean Hearts, in Swearing, Lying, Drunkenness, Whoredom, Pride, Cozening, Defrauding, and such like Wickedness, whereby you grieve ●he Lord day after day, and wound, bruise, burden and oppress his righteous Spirit, as a Cart is oppressed with sheaves; oh repent, repent, and cease from the evil of your do, and leave off your wicked ways, lest the Lord God tear you in Pieces, and there be none to deliver: Oh, tremble ye careless Ones before the Lord Almighty, who can consume you in a Moment; and cut you off in the twinkling of an Eye; oh, dread the Lord God, and fear his great and dreadful Name, for the hour of his Judgement is come; oh, stand in awe of him who made the Heaven and the Earth, the Sea and Fountains of Waters; who giveth the Sun for a Light by Day, and the Ordinances of the Stars and Moon for a Light by Night, who divided the Sea when the Waves thereof did roar, who hath his way in the Whirlwind and in the Storm, and the Clouds are as the dust of his Feet, who meeteth out the Heavens with a span, and measureth the Waters of the Sea in the hollow of his Hand, he comprehendeth the Dust of the Earth▪ as in a Measure, and weigheth the Mountains as in Seals, and the Hills as in a Balance, in comparison of whom all Nations are but as a drop of the Bucket, and as the small dust of the Balance. Oh, will you not fear the Lord, and dread his Majesty, and tremble before his Presence, who is a terrible one to the Workers of Iniquity that will not Repent; who cometh with Fire, and his Chariot, like a Whirlwind, to render his Anger (against the Wicked and Ungodly) in Fury, and his Rebukes in flames of Fire; for by his Fire and by his Sword will he cut down the strongest Oaks and tallest Ceders, and will plead with all Flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many; wherefore repent, repent, and tremble, tremble before the Lord God; ye Workers of Iniquity, for the day, the mighty, terrible, dreadful day of the Lord God Almighty is come, and yet a coming, and woe, wo to the Briars and Thorns that cumber the Earth, for the day shall burn as an Oven, and the Wicked, and they that do wickedly, and will not take warning and repent, (but still harden their Hearts against the Lord, and against his precious Servants that warn you to repent, whose Souls mourn and lament over you in the sense of the Sadness, Wretchedness, Miserableness and Deplorableness of your Conditions) shall be as Stubble, and the Day will burn them up both Root and Branch, and the Fire will burn up the Briars and Thorns, and cleanse the Earth, that Truth, Righteousness, Justice and Mercy may spring and flourish therein, and the Mouth of Iniquity be stopped forever: And the day of the Lord God will be upon every one that is proud, and lifted up against the Lord and his anointed; and the loftiness of the stoutest in Heart against the Lord shall be laid low, and the haughtiness of Men shall be humbled, and the Lord God (holy, just and true) shall be exalted in that day, when the Wicked shall flee to the Rocks, and hid themselves as in the Caves of the Earth, for the fear of the Lord, and the Glory of his Majesty, when he cometh to shake terribly the Earth, and to overthrow the Seat of Wickedness forever, and to punish the World for their Sins, and the Wicked for their Iniquity, and cause the Arrogancy of the Proud to cease, and to lay low the Haughtiness of the Terrible: Wherefore, oh People, prepare, prepare by true Repentance, with speed, to meet the Lord in the way of his Judgements, before his dreadful Fury break forth against you, as devouring Fire: Oh, bring forth Fruits worthy of Repentance and amendment of Life; oh, why will you die and perish in your Iniquities forever? the Lord desireth not the destruction of a Sinner, but rather he should return in time, from his Wickedness, and learn Righteousness and Live; yea, Let the Wicked forsake his Wickedness, and the man his Thoughts, and turn unto the Lord with his whole Heart, and he will have mercy upon him; for with the Lord there is great Mercy, and plenteous Redemption; who also is just in all his Ways, and equal in all his Do, and righteous in all his Judgements, and he will not be mocked by any, such as People sow such must they ●●ap, and the wages of Sin is Death. Oh, how many have been the Warnings of the Lord to the People of this Nation Time after Time, Year after Year, Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept? but how few have ponderously weighed them, received them, and laid them to Heart? And how hath the Lord in part executed his righteous Judgements in and upon this poor Nation? and how few have learned Righteousness thereby? but the greatest part of thy Inhabitants, oh England, are still daily adding Sin unto Sin, and heaping of Iniquity upon Iniquity, and so fitting themselves for a day of Slaughter: And instead of being truly humbled under the hand of God, and to mourn in Sackcloth and Ashes, many are sporting themselves in Music and Dancing, in ringing of Bells, Camping and Wrestling, and many other Games and Vanities, as Bull-baiting and Bare-baiting, by which the Creatures are oppressed to make them Sport; also their wi●ked Stageplays and Games, which are abomination to the Lord, and ashame to a Nation-professing Christianity. O! how doth Swearing and Drunkenness abound, and many take pleasure to overcome one another in the Sin of Drunkenness, which is abomination to the Lord. And you that are Tavern and Ale-House-keepers, put not your Guests upon spending the good Creatures of God upon their Lust, for your own Gain and Interest sake; but rather restrain them, lest you become guilty with them of their Sins, and so partake with them of their Plagues. And all your observable Days and Times, in which you take liberty to sport yourselves in Games and Vanity, aught to be left off, for your Customs are vain; you that observe a Time (as you pretend) in honour of Christ, which you spend in excess of Eating and Drinking, Music and Dancing, Gaming and Revelling; in these things you dishonour Christ, and not honour him, but grieve his holy Spirit, and add Sin unto Sin; and the greater will be the condemnation of such, except they Repent; and truly, a great and sore Plague is come upon many People, ev●n hardness, hardness of Heart: So that indeed; neither the Warnings nor Wrings, Mercies nor Judgements of the Lord will take impression on them, to move them to Repentance; and in the sense of this my Heart is grieved, and my Soul mourneth in secret because of the hardness of their Hearts, which doth signify the● to be as Vessels of wrath fitted for Destruction. Oh, how doth all manner of Wickedness abound, and Ungodliness appear with open Face, and blush not at rebuke? oh, how doth Pride superabound, and People's Hearts so puffed up therewith, that many scarc● know what to eat, drink or put on? oh, the ●ields are even white for the Harvest, Sinners grown ripe for Vengeance, Iniquity is coming to its-full height, the Fats overflow with Wickedness; oh, how are the Proud counted happy, and the Workers of Iniquity set up? but the Meek of the Earth are despised, and the humble and contrite Ones are killed all the day long, and counted as Sheep for the Slaughter, and they that reprove Sin in the Gate are Hated and Persecuted, and he that departeth from Iniquity, and learns Righteousness, maketh himself a Prey: Oh, the Lord hath seen it, and it displeaseth and grieveth him, because of the multitudes of the Transgressions and Abominations of the Sons of men, and Violence and Cruelty that filleth the Earth; but the Lord will arise as a man of War, and ease himself of his Enemies, and avenge himself of his Adversaries; for because Judgement is not speedily executed against an Evil work, therefore the Heart● of the Sons and Daughters of men are set in them to do wickedly; but what will be the end thereof? Oh England, oh England, how of●●n would the Lord in mercy have gathered thy Inhabitants unto himself, as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under ●e● Wings, but thou wouldst not? therefore hath the Lord in Judgement partly made thee desolate: Oh, thy great City, thy great City, whose Abominations reached Heaven, and her Sins came up before the Most High; how hath the Lord God (mighty in Power, and righteous in Judgement) laid her Glory in the Dust, covered her Dignity with Ashes, and marred her Beauty with Burning! Oh, how hath he made of a City an Heap; of a defenced City, a Ruin; of a Palace of Strangers, to become a ruinous Heap! And oh, how few of thy Inhabitants, oh England, have weightily laid it to Heart, or have seriously, and diligently taken notice of the cause of the Destruction thereof! the Lord Can have destroyed the People with their Habitations; but the Lord in Mercy spared them, that his Mercy might move them to Repentance! Oh, England, how hath Judgement after Judgement been executed upon thine Inhabitants? how hath the Lord visited thee with Plague, Fire and Sword, yet their Hearts are still stout against the Lord and his People; their minds haughty, and they will not bow their Hearts to the Lord, nor break off from their evil do, and wicked ways; therefore is his Hand stretched forth still, and they that will not take Warning and Repent, must feel his heavy stroke. Oh, say not any of you in your Hearts, Tush, the Lord hath done his worst? oh, the Lord he hath begun, and he can make a full end, and who amongst you can stay his Hand, or escape his stroke when he smites? or where can you hid yourselves from the Lord? therefore bow, fear and tremble before him, and submit yourselves, and meet him by True and Unfeigned Repentance, and that is the way for you to escape the Stroke of his Fury. The Lord is a God full of long-suffering, and full of patience and forbearance; and long wooeth Sinners, and waiteth day after day to be Gracious, even to the Rebellious; but his patiented forbearing will come to an end, towards those that will by no means repent and be reclaimed from the evil of their ways, and against such his Anger and Wrath will break forth as Fire, and they like Stubble, ready dry, will be consumed therein: Therefore you that have not yet wholly sinned out the day of your Visitation, prize, prise that littletime you have, and make good use thereof, in diligently minding and seeking, after those things that concern your eternal Peace, before you go hence and be no more. Oh, dear People, every where, my love is to you, and pity and tender compassion is in my Heart for you, and your good and welfare eternally I desire, especially you, unto whom I am known in the Fe●● even you my Neighbours and Countrymen, whose resident is in Kirtly, Peakfield, Layestouff, and those parts: Oh, my Soul tenders your eternal happiness, and desires the Salvation of your Souls, yea, love and good will is in my Heart towards you, and to all People; oh, that you yourselves did tender, and seek after the Salvation of your Souls more than you do: Remember when sometimes you have been in great jepardy of your Lives at Sea, and the Lord hath in Mercy delivered you, how little have some of you Eyed the Mercy and delivering Hand of the Lord therein? but have been ready to ascribe the honour of your deliverance to the Anchor, Cable and Manhood, etc. More than to the Lord; and when you have been in great danger of your Lives; and saw no way but you must perish; have you not then cried to the Lord to deliver you (and the Gild of your Iniquities being hung upon your Consciences) have you not been ready to make Promises, in your distress, to the Lord, that if he spared your Lives you would repent; and return unto him, and fear and serve him, and forsake the Evil ways; and when the Lord hath answered your desires, and in mercy hath given you your Lives for a Prey, when you came to Land, have you then performed your Vows and Promises to the Lord, or have you not gone on in Sin and Evil still? let God's witness in every Conscience speak; for unto that I make my appeal: Consider seriously how it stands between God and your own Souls, and how greatly it concerneth you Seamen (and so it doth all other People) to mind their latter ●nd, and to be ready for sudden death; it is a blessed thing to be fit to die, and to feel peace with God. Dear People, your Souls are immortal, and must hereafter be in a sense and feeling of Joy, Peace and Rest; or else of Sorrow, Misery and Torment, even to all Eternity; wherefore it concerns every particular one, to mind above all other things, and seek-after the eternal peace and happiness of your Souls in time, before it be too late; it is Sin, Wickedness, Unbelief, and Hardness of Heart, that doth separate People from the Lord, and that draws down the wrath and curse of God upon them; wherefore people must first be separated and cleansed from that to wit, Sin) which separates them from the Lord, and from his Love, Peace and Blessing, before they can witness their Reconciliation unto God in his Son, and enjoy his Love, Peace and Blessings. Oh, dear People, I beseech you, do not deceive your own Souls, by being satisfied with a talk of being saved and redeemed by Christ, &c, whilst you remain in your Sins, for whom Christ saves he saveth from their Sins, not in their Sins; and they that witness Christ to be their Redeemer, are redeemed from a vain Conversation, and have their Consciences purged from dead works, and their Hearts cleansed and washed in his Blood (which is his Life and Light) from Sin and Corruption, that so they might serve him in newness and holiness of Life: Therefore consider, be still, serious and ponderous in Heart, and retire your minds inward to the pure Light of Christ in your own Consciences, that true and faithful Witness of God, which keeps a Record of the deeds done in the Body, and according to his Record must every man be judged according to his works, so take heed unto the Light, & it will show you your conditions, and how it stands with your poor Souls to Godward; that will deal plainly with you, & will not deceive you; though indeed, your Teachers (who preach for Hire, & divine for Money) have, & do deceive you, by crying Peace to you, & lulled you asleep in your Sins, & have (as it were) daubed you up with untempred Mortar, and (as it were) sewing Pillows under your Armholes, so long as you put into their Mouths, & give them hire, & help to maintain their God, which is their Belly: But woe to such Teachers that feed with the Fat, and cloth with the Wool; and for filthy Lucre and Gain from their Quarters will cry peace unto the Wicked, unto whom (while they remain in their wicked state) there is no true peace, saith the Living God; oh, they are Blind Leaders of the Blind, and how many are fallen into the Pit of Perdition, that have been led by them? Therefore, dear People, cease from your Teachers, who have not profitted you at all, but keep you ever learning, but never able to bring you to the knowledge of the Truth, which until you do come to know freedom from the bondage of Sin and Corruption, you cannot witness; therefore to the Light in all your Consciences come, for that is Truth, and love it, and obey it, and you will by it receive power over Sin, and be enabled to cast off the Yoke of Iniquity, and to take up the Yoke of Christ, and embrace that Cross which crucifies to the World, and worldly things unto the Lust and Wickedness thereof, and such are true Disciples of Jesus that learn of him who is meek and low in their Hearts, and that do deny themselves, and take up the daily Cross to their own Wills, Thoughts, Words, Works, Desires and Affections, and follow him through many Tribulations, in the narrow way of Holiness; for it is not he that calls Lord, Lord, but he that doth the Will of God that inheriteth the Kingdom of God; not the Sayers, or Knowers of the Will of God are justified but the Doers of the Will are justified; not they that only confess (with the Mouth, day after day, that they are miserable Sinners, etc. (as both Priest and People do) and yet still Year after Year remain the same, if not grow worse) shall find mercy; but they that (not only confess) but forsake, and turn from the evil (in Heart Life and Conversation) unto that which is good, shall find mercy and forgiveness, and remission of Sins. Oh, mind the good thing in you which is grieved and burdened with the evil, and turn in your minds to it, and it will let you see those things that are reprovable: Drunkard turn in thy mind to the Light in thy own Conscience, and it will show thee, judge and reprove thee for thy Drunkenness; Swearer turn into the Light, and it will judge thee for Swearing, for Lying, Pride, Envy, Malice, Reviling, Cheating, Defrauding, Covetousness, Fornication; yea, All things that are reprovable are made manifest by the Light, and that which maketh manifest is Light; thou that hatest the Light, and lovest thy Evil deeds, and wilt not come to the Light, because it will reprove thee, there thou hast learned thy condemnation; For this is the condemnation of the World, that Light is come into the World, and men love Darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds are evil; but they that do good love the Light, and bring their deeds to the Light, to try them whether they be wrought in God; and such are justified by the Light: So while you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you may become Children of the Light; so unto the Light (in all your Consciences) I am made manifest, and in true unfeigned love, and bowels of pity, tenderness and compassion to your immortal Souls have I cleared my Conscience, in giving you warning to Repent and turn from the evil of your own ways unto the Lord, while you have a time, before the door of Mercy be shut against you forever, and time unto you be no more. From one that tenders the Eternal happiness and good of your Immortal Souls, a Sufferer in Bonds for the Testimony of a good Conscience William Bennit To those that are seeking the Living God in the Dead Forms. Having a Form of godliness but deny the Power thereof, from such turn away, etc. Why seek ye the Living among the Dead▪ he is not here, but is risen, etc. Know you not yourselves, how that Christ Jesus is in you, except you be Reprobates, 2 Tim. 3. 5. Luke 14. 5, 6. 2 Cor. 13. 5. AND all dear People that are scattered among the many Sects and Heaps, who have honest sincere desires and thirstings after the Lord; oh, love and compassion is in my Heart towards you, and my Soul pities you; and the more, because you are seeking the Living God among the Dead Forms, Shadows, Carnal Ordinances, Beggarly (in comparison of the Life of Truth) Elements and Rudiments of the World, but cannot there find true lasting peace, rest, comfort and satisfaction for the immortal Souls: Oh, Christ is risen he is not there, his Appearance is now more hidden, more invisible, more inward; therefore stay not in Shadows, rest not in the Likeness without Life; pitch not your Tent in the Form, without the Power; Come, come away, you thirsty Ones, from the Wells of man's digging, which can hold no Water, that will rightly and kindly satisfy your thirsty Souls, and wait to know the Spring opened in your own Hearts, which cometh from Christ, the Fountain of living Water, and drink thereof, and be satisfied, and go no more forth to the broken Cisterns; but wait within, in the Light, for the Springs of Life to refresh your thirsty Souls. Oh! come out of the Shadows to the Substance, Christ (the Light) in you, except you be Reprobates: Oh! the Spirit and the Bride says, Come; and he that drinketh says, Come; and let him that is athirst come, and drink of the Water of Life freely; why do you spend your Time for that which is not Bread, and your ●abour for that which doth not truly satisfy your Souls? Oh! feed no longer upon the Husk, upon Words without Life, upon Knowledge without Power; for that will puff you up in your own Eyes, and elevate you in your own Conceits, and shut you out from the Tree of Life; and though you may seem to grow Rich and increase with Goods, and want nothing; yet when your Eyes come to be opened, you will see yourselves Poor, Blind and Naked; for he that covereth himself with a Covering of Words and Knowledge, and a Profession without Life, his Covering is not the Fine Linen, whit● and clean, which the Wife Virgins that follow the Lamb are clothed with, who have Oil in their Vessels, the Light, Life and Substance in themselves; but they that only get Words and Knowledge into the Comprehension, and grow rich in the Brain, and have their Religion in their Head, and know not the pure undefiled Religion in the Heart, such are Foolish Virgins, that have Oil only in their Lamps; and though such may blaze, and give a seeming great Light in Words, yet such one day will want Oil, and their Lights will go out; the Lord will dry up all standing Waters that have no Spring; he will blast all Professions out of the Light, all Gatherings out of the Name and Power of God, the Lord will scatter; therefore come away (from among them) you Unsatisfied and Thirsty Ones, whose Souls pant after the Lord, and are weary of the Husks, and hunger after the Substance: And deceive not your own Souls by creating to yourselves a false Peace, by applying the Promises to yourselves, and acting Faith (as you say) upon a Promise; but seriously consider in the Fear of the Lord, and examine your own Hearts, with the Light of Christ in your own Consciences, whether you be in that State and Condition that the Promises of Life Eternal are unto, yea or nay: There is great Difference between man's applying the Promises, forcing him to believe they belong to him; and God's applying them, and sealing them to the Soul by his own Spirit: The Promises of God are Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus, the Covenant of Light and Life; and those that are converted into him, partake with him of the Promises of Life eternal; but he that is in Christ, is a New Creature, the old things are passed away, and all things become new; and such walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit, and so come to be Heirs with Christ of that Kingdom that is without End. But for any to set themselves to believe, that they are elected in Christ Jesus unto Life eternal, and so count the Promises of God are theirs, when they are not become New Creatures in Christ, but are in their Sin, such deceive their own Souls; for Unless a man (said Christ) be born again, he cannot enter into God's Kingdom. So all you hungry Souls, turn in your Minds to the Light of Christ Jesus in your Consciences, and wait in it, to know Bread in your own Houses, Christ in you, the Bread of Life, which the living Soul feeds on, and lives by, that you may know the fresh and green Pasture, and with us feed therein, and drink of the still Waters, and rest with us (in the Light) in the Fold; that so we may all know and have one Shepherd, and be all of one Sheepfold. To those that are backslided from the Truth. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and Repent, and do thy first works, etc. Return, oh, backsliding Israel, etc. I will heal thy backsliding, etc. But if you will not hear, my Soul shall weep in secret, etc. Because the Lord's Flock is gone into Captivity, Rev. 2. 5. Jer. 3. 12. Hosea 14. 4. Jer 14. 17. AND you who have tasted of the Power of an Endless Life, and were convinced of the precious immutable Truth of God, and had in measure received it in the love and obedience of it, and by it were in part set free from the bondage of Sin and Corruption, and redeemed out of the pollutions of the World, but now are Apostatised from the Lord, and have forsaken his precious Truth and People, and like Demas embraced this present World again, and are turned like the Dog to his Vomit, and like the Swine that were washed, to wallow in the Mire again, and have made shipwreck of Faith and a good Conscience, and have proved treacherous both to God and his People, and have denied the Womb that bore you, and the Breast that gave you suck, and have turned from the Grace of God into wantonness, and done despite to the Spirit of Truth, and hath trampled the Blood of the Covenant (wherewith you were in measure sanctified) under your Feet as an unholy thing, and have slain the Just, and crucified the Righteous in yourselves. Oh, poor, poor Hearts! my Soul pities you, and mourns in secret over you, and cannot but lament the sadness and deplorableness of your Conditions; oh, better you had never known the Truth, then after you have known it to turn from it to your old Lovers again: Oh, whither will you go you Backsliding ones? where, and in what will you hid yourselves from the Lord, now you are departed from him? if you go from Sea to Sea, he will find you out; and what can defend you from his wrath? oh, where and in what can you find true Peace, Rest and happiness for your Souls, seeing you have forsaken him in whom alone it is to be enjoyed? Oh, are you not sensible that you want true Peace? Oh, you that have forsaken the Father's House of plenty, and are gone out among the Swine who feed upon the Husks; oh, poor Hearts! do you not sometimes a little come to yourselves, and then remember the Father's House? and do you not then find some inclination and desire to return again? if you do return, how know you but that he will have compassion on you, and receive you into his House again? though you have been spending your Portion among Harlots, and have deal so treacherously by him, and so much wounded and grieved him, and his Children; yet notwithstanding if you can throughly return unto him with your whole Hearts, he can and will receive you, and heal your Backslidings, & blot out your Sins, & forgive you your Transgressions against him, and love you freely. Therefore return, return you backsliding Ones, why, why will you die and perish forever; oh, repent and do the first Works, turn your minds inward to the pure and just One in yourselves, which you have grieved, wounded and oppressed, as a Cart is oppressed with Sheaves: Oh that you might look upon him whom you have pierced, and behold him whom you have wounded, and even mourn and lament over him: Oh, to the pure, holy, faithful Witness of God in your own Consciences, which you were at first turned unto you must come, and the righteous Judgement of the Lord you must own, and wait in; yea, a dreadful Cup you must drink before you can enjoy true lasting peace in God: Oh that you could be willing to drink it, and to pass again through the Fire and Sword, yea, through Death, to come to eat again of the Tree of Life, and live forever: Oh, that all you that are betrayed (like Samson) of their strength by the Adulterous mind, so as that the Philistine, the uncircumcised Nature hath prevailed over you, and put out your Eyes, that you are become Blind, and cannot see that beauty and comeliness in the Lord and his Truth which you once saw; oh that the Lord would be pleased to visit you again, that (like as the Hair of Samson grew again, his strength increased; so that he slew more of his Enemies at his Death, than he did in all his Life) so the Seed of God may be raised again in your Hearts, and the strength therein and thereby may be renewed and grow, that by your dying again unto that which is contrary to the Will of God, you may witness greater Victory in the Lord over your Enemies, and know more of them slain then ever you did. Oh! you that find and are sensible that the Lord hath not wholly given you over, but is yet striving with you by his pure Witness in you to return unto him, his Truth and People again; Oh! return before it be too late, and before the Door of Mercy be forever shut against you; for then, if you seek the Blessing with Tears, as Esau did, you will not obtain it; and though you call, Lord, Lord open unto us, we have Eaten and Drunk in thy Presence, and in thy Name we have cast out Devils, and have had power over unclean Spirits, and have done many great Works; yet notwithstanding he will say, Depart from me ye Workers of Iniquity, I know you not: Therefore be sober and serious, and ponderously consider, and let these things take deep Impression in your Hearts, which are wrote in true Love, Pity and Bowels of Compassion to your Immortal Souls, by a Mourner over you, and a Traveller in Spirit for your Restoration. To those that profess the Truth, yet walk contrary to the Truth in Life and Conversation. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now I tell you weeping, that they are Enemies to the Cross of Christ, etc. Phil. 3. 18, 19 ANd all you who make a Profession of the Light and Truth in Words, but in Works deny it, whose Conversations are lose and vain, and not consistant with your Profession, nor answerable, but repugnant to Truth, you do not conduce to the honour of Truth, but produce a dishonour thereunto by your loof disorderly walking, whereby you also give the Enemies of Truth advantage against the Truth for them to reproach the Truth, and those that walk and live in the Truth, and also you are a stumbling Block in the way of the simple-hearted, that hath a Love and Desire towards Truth, and a Grief and Burden to the Faithful that love the Truth, and live in it, and seek the Glory and Honour thereof; and also you deceive your own Souls, by being satisfied with a Profession of Truth, without the possession thereof; and you have no true peace where you are, nor unity with the Lord, nor fellowship with his People; for the unity and fellowship of the Saints is in the Light and holy Life of God; and they that are out of the Light (though they profess it) are out of the unity of Faith, and fellowship of the Sons of God, and such are but gotten into the outward Court where the Gentiles, the uncircumcised in Heart can come; but blessed are all they that do the Will of God, and keep his Commandments, and have right to the Tree of Life, and enter through the Gate into the City, where no unclean thing can come: So all you that profess the Truth, and walk contrary to the Truth, come to be faithful and obedient to the Truth, that in the Way of Truth and Righteousness you may walk as becometh Truth; and that in the Light you may shine as Lights in your holy Lives and blameless unspotted Conversations, to the praise and glory of God, and to the peace, rest, comfort and happiness of your own Souls: verily no Hypocrite in Zion can be hid from the Lord, who giveth the Churches to know that it is he that searcheth the Heart and tryeth the Reins, who saith, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every one according as his work shall be. To all those that are Convinced of the Truth but still remain in the World's Ways. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them: He that knoweth the Father's Will, and doth it not, is worthy of many stripes, John 13. 17. AND all you that are convinced of the Truth & Way of God, but do not resign up your Hearts in obedience to walk therein, but still remain in the broad way of the World, partaking with them of their Sins, Idolatry and false Worship; and though you see the Vanity and Evil thereof, yet (for by-ends and carnal self-interests, to save yourselves from Reproach and Suffering) you join with them therein against the pure Witness of God in your own Consciences; and if you continue partaking with them of their Sins, how can you but expect also to partake of their Plagues, except you haste out from among them, and embrace and receive the Truth in the Love and Obedience of it? Oh! come out, come out from amongst them, and be you separated, and touch no more the Unclean Thing, that the Lord may receive you unto himself, and become your God, and you become his People. Oh! you that know the Father's Will, and do it not, are you not worthy of many Stripes? Oh, poor Hearts! shun not the Cross any longer, neither be ashamed of the Reproach, nor ashamed of the Lord and his People before Men; but give up your Hearts to obey the Lord and his precious Truth, and take up the daily Cross, that crucifies unto the World and Worldly Things, unto the Sin; Wickedness, Formal Worships, Vain Customs, Ceremonies, Pride and Vanity thereof, and follow the Lamb in the narrow Way of Holiness; and be willing to Suffer with Christ, and you shall Reign with him; and love not your Lives unto Death, and you shall have a Crown of Life. Oh! how long hath the Lord been wooing many of you day after day, if not year after year, and hath long waited (knocking at the Door of your Hearts) in his Grace to be Gracious unto you, who desireth not that you should perish in your Rebellion and Disobedience? Oh! that the sense of his Goodness; Mercy and Patient forbearing towards you might overcome your Hearts, and make you willing to resign up yourselves to walk in the Way of Truth, before the Lord cease striving with you (who hath said, His Spirit shall not always strive with Man) lest the Day of your Visitation pass over your Heads. Therefore come forward you that halt and linger behind in the Borders of Babylon, and Suburbs of Egypt; and come nigh you that stand afar off gazing to see what will become of us; He that is not with me (said Christ) is against me; he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad; none can serve (two Masters) God and Mammon. To those that are Newly Convinced of the Truth. Ye were like Sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your Souls: He shall gather his Lambs in his Arms, and carry them in his Bosom, 1 Peter 2. 25. Isaiah 40 11. AND all you who are newly convinced of the precious Truth and Way of God, and have in measure received Truth in the love and belief of it, and have and daily do give up your hearts to obey the Truth, and to walk in the Way of Righteousness, and Path of Holiness: Dear Ones, unto you my Heart is open in the tender Bowels of my heavenly Father's Love; and happy and blessed of the Lord God are you, if you do not faint, nor grow weary in your Minds, nor turn back again, as some have done, but persevere on to the End. Oh! dear Babes, whom the Lord, mighty in Power, hath by his out stretched Arm brought out of Egypt, the Land of Darkness and House of Bondage, and hath set your Faces towards Canaan, the good Land of Liberty, Light, Rest and Peace: Oh, travail on, travail on ye weak Ones in the strength of the Lord, and drawings of his Light, and look not back to Egypt again, remember Lot's Wife; and fear not (the God of the World, the Prince of the Power of the airy mind, even that wicked Spirit that once had dominion in and over you, and kept you Bondslaves in darkness to Sin and Corruption) though he (the Enemy of your Souls Liberty, Peace and Rest) may pursue hard after you with his whole Host of Temptations, Snares and Allurements, both inward and outward; and also a Sea of Troubles, Straits, Difficulties and Sufferings may appear in your Way, both within and without, and Mountains of Fears, Doubts and carnal Reasonings on every side, and also something in you ready to murmur, complain and say, Oh! that we had tarried still in Egypt, and not set one step towards Canaan; for the Way is so straight, and the Path so narrow, the Sufferings so hard, and the Difficulties and Dangers so great and various, that we fear we shall perish by the way, and not get to our desired Rest; therefore let us turn back again, before we go any further. Oh! fear not, neither turn back, but stand still from reasoning carnally, and look not at the Straits, Trials, Dangers, Sufferings and Losses that may appear before you; neither look at your own Weakness, Feebleness and Inability, nor at the Strength and Temptation of your Enemy; but look up (ye little ones) unto the Lord, and trust you in the Strength of his Arm, for he is God all-sufficient for you; therefore cast your care upon him, and he will make a Way for you through the Sea, and divide the Waters of the great Deep, and make a Way for you in the Wilderness, and a Path through the Thickets, and make the Crooked Straight before you, and the Rough Smooth; he will throw down the Mountains, and remove away the Hills, and lead you in a Way you know not, and in a Path you never before trod in, and will make the hard things easy unto the Willing and Obedient, that turn not back again to their old Lovers, but love Truth and Righteousness, and follow on to know the Lord in his Way; all such he will give to drink of the Brook by the Way, and feed with Bread from Heaven, whereby you shall be refreshed, and your Strength renewed daily, in which Strength you shall be able to travail on without fainting, and to run and not be weary, until you come to your desired Rest, and see the Travail of your Souls, and be satisfied with the Enjoyment of that you have travailed after. So the Lord be with you and keep your Eye single unto himself, that your Hearts may be full of Light, that nothing may cause you to stumble and fall into the Snares of the Enemy, who hath hindered many that once begun to run well; oh! mind and keep to that in your own Hearts which makes you truly sensible of your particular States and Conditions, and in that sense daily wait upon the Lord diligently and patiently for the sweet Refresh from his Presence, and for the distilings of his Heavenly Dew, that so the tender Plants of Righteousness and Lily of Holiness may grow and spring in all your Hearts; that the little See● of Life may become as a great Tree, and every one of you may witness a sitting under your own Vine (Christ in you the Hope of Glory) and none to make you afraid. And dear Friends, look not out at others, but keep at home in the Light, the Tent; Jacob shall dwell alone, and not be numbered among the Nations; Esau he hunts abroad, and grows weary and faint, and then sells his Birthright for a Mess of Pottage: What if some stumble, and fall from the Truth? let not that shake you; Truth is the same still, and changeth not; and if you see some turn aside from us into a Self separation from the Body of Friends, and endeavour to draw Disciples after them, let not that cause you to stumble and question the Certainty of Truth; neither be you drawn away and tossed about like Children by them; but keep to the Light, and in it follow the Footsteps of the Flock; but follow not the Footsteps of the Wandering Sheep, that have left their Flock and are gone astray, who are like to perish by the devouring Beast and Enemy of their Souls, except in time they return again to the Fold: And if you see some (amongst ourselves) setting or keeping up that thing or practice which is out of the comely descent Order of the Body, and not consistant with Truth's Government, let not that beget an Occasion of stumbling in your Minds; but be still, and keep your Eye single to the Lord, and walk as you have them for an Example (that are over you in the Lord) who fully follow Christ Jesus: And as for that which is only set up and ●eld up by Man, out of Truth's Order, it will die and pass away, and Truth will outlive all. So unto the Lord, who hath called you out of Darkness into his marvellous Light, do I commit you to be preserved unto himself unto the End; For, many are called, but few chosen; he that abides to the End, the same shall be saved. To the true Mourner in Zion. To appoint to them that mourn in Zion, and to give them the Oil of Joy for Mourning, etc. Blessed are you that mourn, for you shall be comforted. They that sow in Tears shall reap in Joy, etc. Isaiah 61. 3. Matth. 5. 4. Psal. 126. 5, 6. OH, lift up thy head thou bowed down, thou Mourner in Zion, who art as one alone in a solitary place, and few seethe thee, or knoweth thy Sorrow, or truly sensible of thy Grief, or behold thy Tears, who art (in thine own Eye) as a Woman forsaken and grieved in Spirit; as a Wife of Youth rejected, who appears in thy own Eyes as it were Miserable and Wretched, mourning in the sense of thy own (as thou thinkest) Unworthiness, Failings, Inability, Emptiness and Poverty, who art ready to say (with sorrow) Where is there any so Poor, Empty, Barren and Unfruitful to God as I? Oh, I can do nothing for the Lord except (like Mary) Weep behind him (thinking myself scarce worthy to see his Face) and wash his Feet with my Tears▪ whilst others sit at the Table with him, and eat of the Fatness of his House, and drink of the New-wine of his Kingdom; but alas for me! my Tears are my Meat and Drink, because of the oppression of my Enemy, who saith to my Soul, Where is thy God? dost thou think thou snalt ever be worthy to behold his Face, to receive his Love, and to have the Smiles of his Countenance? And thou (O mourning one) by harkening to, and believing thy Enemy, becometh (in thy own eye) like an alone Sparrow upon the Flouse-top; and as the alone Quail in the Stubble-field; and as a Dove alone, mourning for the loss of her Mate; and so thou layest thee down in Sorrow, and makest it thy Bed, and Grief thy Sheets, Tears thy Pillow, and Sighing and Mourning thy Sleep. whilst thou believest thy Enemy, and entertainest those Fears, Doubtings and Carnal Reasonings (which he infuseth into thy Heart) as thy Companion: But arise I say unto thee (in the Name of my God, and thy God, of my Father, and thy Father) arise out of thy Bed, for thy Beloved is at hand, and knocketh at the door of thy Heart; arise out of thy Bed of Sorrow, Fears and Doubtings and by Faith let him in whom thy Soul loveth; say not, I am not worthy of him, but rather say, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief, strengthn my Faith, make me more worthy of thee: Oh, shut him out no longer by unbelief and doubtings, and by reasoning with and harkening unto the Enemy of thy Souls Joy, Peace and Comfort, who would always keep thee from thy Beloved, and would daily add Sorrow to thy Sorrow, and Affliction to thy Grief, and Weight to thy Burden, that he might (if he could) wholly sink thee down into the Pit of Desperation forever: Wherefore harken no longer unto him, for he was a Liar from the beginning; entertain him not, nor his false Instigations any longer (n●r by unbelief keep not him out any longer whom thou lovest and much desirest) but by that small measure of Faith thou sometimes feelest in God, though it be but as a Grain of Mustard seed, endeavour to thrust and keep out the Enemy, and to remove the Mountains of Fears and Doubtings out of the way, and by Faith embrace him whom thy Soul desires more than Rubies or much fine Gold; that so the N●gh●s of thy Sorrow and Mourning for him in thy Bed of Fears and Doubtings may be turned into sweet reposes with him in his Bed of Solace; that thou mayst say with gladness of heart, the False Accuser is cast out, and my Beloved is come, is come, and his reward is with him; he hath taken me from my mourning state into his Banqueting-house of Joy, Peace, Rest and true Satisfaction, and his Banner over me is Love; and now my Sorrow is turned into Joy; and I that once sat mourning in the Pit of doubtings and unbelief, hath the Lord (upon the wings of Faith) raised up to come to sing in the height of Zion, and to flow to the goodness of my God, who hath exalted my Horn in him, and enlarged my Mouth over my Enemy, whose Mouth was enlarged over me in the day I bowed under him through unbelief and doubtings: Oh, then feebleness possessed my Loins, weakness my Knees, and faintness my Heart; so that when I risen up to go (towards my Beloved) I fell by doubtings and fears; but now, I that stumbled, am (by Faith in the Power of my God) girt with Strength, and the Bow of the mighty man (that prevailed against me broken in pieces, who so often wounded me with his Darts, that I was like to poor Lazarus, full of Wounds, Bruises and Sores; but the Great Physician of Souls hath healed me with the Oil of Faith and Salvation; and now I find that it is the Lord that bindeth up the broken in heart, & healeth all their wounds; Oh, blessed be the Lord who hath exalted my low Estate, and brought me from off the Dunghill, and given me a Mansion in the Father's House, and a place at the Table with his Children; though I once, by hearken to my Enemy, said, I was a Dog, and not worthy to eat of the children's Bread; and so I kept good things from me by yielding to my Adversary, who would still have feed me with his food, even the dust of the Earth, that so I might have continued always Weak, Lean, Barren and Feeble, and never to have been able to overcome him; but the Lord my tender God (who thought upon me in the day of my distress, when I was poor and needy) hath rebuked him, and hath put him under my Feet, the mighty the Lord hath brought down from his Seat, and exalted him of low degree, he hath delivered Jacob out of the hand of him that was too strong for him, and though he was a Worm, and no Man, and the cry was, How shall Jacob arise? yet the Arm of his God hath raised him from the Earth, and hath set his Feet upon the Necks of his Enemies, and hath given him power to tread upon the Mighty as the Potter treadeth Clay; and this is the Lord's do and it is marvellous in the eyes of his Servants, blessed be his name for ever, it is the Lord that lifteth up the weak Hands that hung down, and strengthens the feeble Knees, and m●kes straight their Paths, that that which is Lame may not be turned out of the Way, but that rather it may be Healed, that the Hal●ing may go upright, and the Lame may leap as an Hart, and the Tongue of the Dumb might sing of the goodness of the Lord and the Mourner rejoice in him whose Mercy endureth forever. So believe, hope and trust you in the Lord all ye that love him, and mourn and long for him, and in patience and contentedness (without fainting in your minds) wait for him; for the Lord is good to the man that waits upon him, to the Soul that seeketh him; and it is good both to hope and quietly to wait upon the Lord, more than he that wanteth and waiteth for the Morning; for with the Lord there is great Mercy and plenteous Redemption, who redeemeth Jacob out of all his Trouble, and is with him in the Fire and in the Water, and in all his Afflictions he forsook him not: Therefore trust you, hope, rely and depend you upon the Lord, all you that love him, and cast your care upon him, for he cares for you, whose tender compassion and faithfulness will never fail to the House of Israel. A General Salutation of Love to the Children of Light. AND all dearly beloved Friends, everywhere, who are faithful to the Lord and his Truth in your several measures and places, my very dear and unfeigned love in the precious Truth of our God extends unto all the honest and upright in Heart, who love and delight in Truth and Righteousness, and seek the Praise, Honour and Glory of God alone, Grace and Love be with you, Mercy and Peace attend you, Joy and Comfort fill you, and the Blessing of the Most High rest upon and remain in & with you Day and Night, and the Lord keep you all in the Faith of the Elect Seed, in which is your Victory over the World, in which stand fast, and keep your Dominion in the Lord over the Earth & earthly things, that the Earth may be the Footstool of your Minds, & Heaven your Throne, and you to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and to use the World as if you used it not, being lose in heart to that which perisheth with the using; oh, that all Friends that are free from, and void of the Cares of this Life, and Cumbrances of this World may prise (and stand fast in) their Freedom, and not be forward and hasty (in the affectionate part) to run their selves into Bondage to those things that profit not, but hindereth to God-ward, and prove as Briars and Thorns to the choking or quenching of the growth of the Seed of Life in the Heart; there is a mind that hunts and desires after (and is ready (if it be not limited) to form and create unto itself) a Freedom that stands not in the Liberty of the Sons of God; the Liberty of the Sons of God and Children of the Light stands in that which is a Yoke to the World's Liberty, and their Freedom stands in that which is Bondage to the carnal Mind, and crucifies unto the World and worldly things; also there is a mind that is ready to endeavour and seek to put off, and to keep out of those things (which in their proper place may be said to be lawful) that it seethe it hindereth the growth into the Eternal, and endangereth the Souls standing to God-wards; and truly that is the more purer mind that serves (one Master) God alone; Indeed dear Friends, I am ready to desire that this mind (which was in Christ Jesus) may have dominion in our Hearts more and more; that as Strangers and Pilgrims we may be in and to the World and the love thereof, and the Lord ●lone become object of our Love, and his Truth the covering of our Eyes, that so the desire of our Souls may be unto him, and unto the remembrance of his Name, which is like precious Ointment poured forth, giving a pleasant smell, and a sweet delect●ble savour, and therefore do the Virgins love him, and remember his Love more than Wine; yea, more than Father, Mother, Husband, Wife, Children, Silver, Gold, Houses, Lands; yea, he is the chiefest to them of ten thousand, and the Upright love him, for he is altogether comely. Oh! dearly beloved Friends, much hath the Lord God of power done for us, since the day he found us laid among the Pits, and raised us up from the Dunghill of our own Corruption, and s●id unto us Live, who were dead in Sins and Trespasses; oh, how greatly hath he blessed and prospered us in despite of the spirit that hath so eagerly sought and endeavoured to devour us, and extinguish us from being a People, and hath even made us a Family like a Flock; and though Balak and Balaam's spirit (the Beast, Jezabel and false Prophets) have sought Enchantments against us, to Curse us, yet the God of blessings has greatly Blest us in our Sufferings, Tribulations and Afflictions, and has made Joseph as a fruitful Bough by the Wall, whose Branches grow over the Wall (that doth and will let until it be taken out of the way) though the Archers of Babylon have shot at him, and grievously wounded him, yet his Bow (notwithstand his great Affliction) hath abode in Strength, and the Hands of his Arms have been made strong by the hand of the mighty God of Jacob, who has blest Joseph, and unto the uttermost bounds of the everlasting Hills shall he be blessed forevermore. Oh, dear Friends, if any People now in being upon the Earth have cause to speak well of the Lord, and to trust in his holy Name, we are the People; for mightily and wonderfully hath the mighty God done and wrought for us, though the blind World sees it not: Oh! how have we been as Lambs among Lions, and yet not devoured, but wonderfully preserved by the secret Power and invisible Arm of the Lord our Shepherd, who hath been our Defence when the Beasts of the Forest have come forth to Devour, and the Wolves have been greedy of their Prey, then hath the Lord sought for Mount Zion, and defended the Hill thereof; and though some said, We'll pursue, we'll overtake, our Lust shall be satisfied on them; we'll draw our Swords, and our Hands shall destroy them; yet how hath the Lord blown in his Wrath upon them, the Sea of his Judgement hath covered them, and they are sunk as Led in the bottom of the mighty Waters, and we yet (through mercy) are alive, and have a being among the Living, to speak well of the Lord, and to make mention of the Goodness of our Good, and to declare of his Kindness, and to praise him for his Works, which are marvellous in our Eyes: Oh! his Love, his Mercy and tender fatherly care over and towards us, extends beyond the demonstration of Words; and oh let the sense thereof be engraven upon the table of our Hearts, that it may humble us, and keep us low before the Lord, and be an Obligation upon every Soul of us, to bind and engage us unto the Lord and his Truth forever. How mightily hath the Lord limited and quieted the raging Sea, and made a Calm! oh, that all Friends might take notice of the great Mercy and Love of the Lord to us in this particular, and mind the end of the Lord therein; and let us all take heed we Sin not, because Grace and Mercy to us abounds, lest it provoke the Lord to Anger, and be a moving cause to induce him to let forth the Wind, and suffer a Storm again. Oh, that none might get into a false ease and liberty and wrong security, because of the present Calm; but all to keep retire in that which fitteth and maketh ready for Trials when they come, in, by and through which we have been upheld & preserved hitherto, even by the secret Power & Arm of the Lord, which is not shortened that it cannot save, but is the same that ever it was; and it hath been our Helper in six Troubles, and in the seventh has not been wanting to us, to help us when there hath been none to help, and to support and uphold us when there hath been none to uphold, but Loads, Burdens and Oppressions have been heaped upon us, and to comfort us, when nothing but Sorrow and Trouble from the World compassed us about, and when we have had nothing, as from men, but the Bread of Adversity & the Water of Affliction; even than hath the Lord our tender God been the Comforter of our Hearts, the Refresher of our Souls, the rejoicer of our Spirits, and the Lifter up of our Hands when we have been bowed down with the Oppressions of our Enemies; his presence hath been with us in the Prisonhouse, and in the low Dungeon, and hath not left us to this day, and assuredly never, never, never will leave us, if we leave not him, but will be with us until we have finished our Course and fulfilled the days of our appointed Time, and our Change come. So dear Friends, unto the Lord I commit you, who knoweth how it is with all his Babes and Children, and beholdeth all their Trials, Straits and Sufferings, inward and outward, and his ear is open to the cry of the Poor, and groan of the Needy, who is God all-sufficient for all those that trust, hope, rely and depend upon him, and able to keep them by his power through Faith in his Name, unto his heavenly Kingdom: So the Lord be with you all, and the Almighty protect and defend you, and keep you from Evil, unspotted from the World, and preserve you in Love, Peace and Unity with himself, and one with another in his innocent unfeigned Love, in his Light, Life, Power and Truth, and make and keep you all of one Heart, and one Mind, and one Soul; that you all with one consent may still worship and serve the Lord God in the one Spirit and the one Truth, in which I dearly greet, salute and embrace you all, and remain your Friend and Companion in the Patience and Tribulation of Jesus; Farewell, dear Friends. William Bennit. Dear Friends, IN the Love which waxeth not Old, neither is subject to Change, which God hath shed abroad in the hearts of those that believe in the Light, through the operation of his Eternal Spirit; in this Love which openeth our Hearts unto the Lord, and one another, doth the unfeigned Salutation of my Soul reach forth unto you, as in which Love jabide, I cannot forget the Family of Love, and Household of Faith, neither can length of Time, nor distance of Place, ●onds nor Tribulations extinguish the remembrance of you, whom the Lord ●ath chosen (out of the Elect Seed) from out of the Fa●ilies of the Earth, to place his Name among, and to manifest his▪ Power and Glory in and through you his People, to the praise of your God, in your Generation: dear Friends, who are called to be made partakers of the Blessed Everlasting Inheritance of the Saints in Light, and through Faith in the Light of Life you are called and raised up, to bear Testimony unto him whom the Nations Despise; but unto you that believe in him he is Precious, and you that have seen his Beauty and beheld his Comeliness, and have tasted of his Love, and have savoured the sweetness of his pre●ious Ointment, which hath healed your Wounds, and cured your Diseases, and with which your Souls have been Bathed, Warmed and sweetly Refreshed; unto you that have tasted of his Divine Virtues, who is the Light of ●he World, he is the chiefest of ten Thousand; who hath called and chosen you out of the World, to follow him in the Regeneration, and to bear his Image before the World, and to show forth his Testimony against the World, therefore do the World hate you, and desire and seek your Destruction, and would tempt you, and by cruelty force you from the beloved of you● Souls; but dear Hearts, every one cleave in spirit unto the Lord, and hold fast his blessed Tru●h, received into your Hearts, that the Enemy within, nor his Instruments without by all their Temptation's and Cruelty, may never move you to decline, nor degenerate from that blessed Testimony which God hath given you to bear for him, in the midst of a Wicked and Ungodly Generation; who must fill up the measure of their Iniquity, that Judgement may come upon them to the full, and the measure of your Sufferings must also be fulfilled; therefore, dear Lambs, hold fast Faith and a good Conscience, and p●t on Courage and Strength unto the end; and hold fast the Word of Patience, that you may be kept in the hour of Temptation, and the Preservation of your Souls you may come to witness by the Power of God, through all Trials, Troubles, Losses, Straits, Afflictions and Tribulations, that the Lord suffereth to befall you, trust you in him, and depend upon his everlasting Arm, which is your help, stay and strength, God will restrain the Wrath of our Enemies, and dissipate the Purposes, and confound the Evil Devises of our Adversaries, so far as it seemeth good unto him; the Lord God Everlasting who keepeth Covenant with his People, and whose tender Mercy, Compassion and Fatherly Care faileth not towards the House of Jacob; his blessed soul refreshing strengthening Presence be with all his People, to Feed, Nourish and Strengthen them, and Cherish them, Support and Uphold them, Comfort and Consolate them in all their sufferings for his Names sake, and bear up all his little Ones, for whom my Soul is in Travel, and the Lord keep all his in the Covenant of his everlasting Love, that if our Earthen Vessels be Broken, and turned to the Dust for the Testimony of Jesus, our Souls may rest with the Lord; so whether we Live w● may Live to God, or whether we Dye we may Die unto God, that whether we Live or Dye we may be the Lords, and he be glorified in us either by Life or Death, which is the desire of your Friend and Brother in the love of Truth. Dear Lambs, my love remains with you, though Bonds hold me close, be you bundled up together in Love, Peace and Unity, that you may be a help strength and comfort one to another in the Lord, and let none be careless, but all watch and keep close to the Lord, and keep your meetings, and wait upon God to be fitted for every Trial yet to come, neither let any be discouraged or surprised with fear through the terror of your Enemies, you know that the Lord hath carried us through much already, his Arm is not shortened, our God is a God of Wonders, let us stand still and see his Salvation, which he will manifest on the behalf of the meek of the Earth, that are appointed as Sheep for the Slaughter, and hath no helper but the Lord; God Almighty hasten it for his own Elects sake, which cryeth Day and Night unto him, Amen saith my Soul, even come Lord Jesus, come quickly, and take unto thee thy great power to Reign, for unto thee belongeth the Dominion, for thou art worthy, let all Nations come and Worship before thee, and give Glory to thy Name, who art Just in all thy Ways, and Righteous in all thy Judgements, thy Counsels of old are Faithfulness and Truth. Bury Goal this 18th of the 9th Month 1670. William Bennit. A Loving Exhortation and Warning to SEAMEN, and all others whom it doth concern. YOU that go down to the Sea in Ships, that do Business in great Waters, where you see the Works of the Lord, and his Wonders in the deep; great Cause have you to fear and love the great God of Heaven and Earth, who giveth you Life and Being, who is the God of all your Mercies, who in Mercy hath oftentimes preserved you in great Danger and Peril, and delivered you when you have been ready to Perish: Oh, forget not his Mercy towards you; but Repent speedily, and Fear and Dread his great Name, and stand in Awe, and Sin no more against him, whose Power is over all, who commands the Winds and the Seas, and they obey him: When sometimes you have been in Great Jeopardy of Your Lives, and the Lord hath in Mercy delivered you, how little have some of You Eyed the Mercy and delivering Hand of the Lord therein; ●ut have been Ready to ascribe the Honour of your Deliverance to the Anchor, Cable and Manhood, more than to the Lord; and when you have been in Great Danger of your Lives, and saw no Way, but you must Perish, have you not then cried to the Lord to deliver you? (and the Gild of your Iniquities being heavy upon your Consciences) have you not been ready to make Promises to the Lord in your Distress, that if he spared your Lives, ye would Repent, and turn unto him, and Fear, and Serve him, and forsake your Evil Ways? And when the Lord hath answered your Desires, and in Mercy hath given you your Lives for a Prey, when you came to Land, have you then performed your Vows and Promises to the Lord? or have you not gone on in Sin and Evil still? let God's Witness in every Conscience speak, for unto that I make my Appeal: Consider how greatly it concerneth you Seamen (and so it do●h all other People) to mind their latter End, and to be ready for sudden Death; let every particular One consider seriously how it stands between God and their own Souls: Oh, it is a blessed Thing to be fit to Die, and to feel Pe●ce with God; it is their Sins and Iniquities that make People unfit for God's Kingdom; they that die in their Sins must perish, as Christ said unto some, Except you repent you shall likewise perish; without Holiness and Purity none can see God: The Soul of Man is Immortal, and can never Die, but must (when it leaves the Body) be in a feeling Sense of Joy and Peace, or Woe and Misery forever; The Wicked and all that forget God must be turned into Hell: Oh that all People, Young and Old, may repent and return to the Lord with their whole Hearts, and he will show them Mercy! Prise your time, for it is precious, and you know not how short it is: Oh fear and dread the Eternal God that giveth you Life and Being, and can take it away when he pleaseth; It is not a talking of being Saved and Redeemed by Christ, and of his dying for you, will stand you in any stead, that live in Sin and Vanity; Christ said, A Man must be born again, or else he cannot see the Kingdom of God: So dear People, both Young and Old, mind the Pure Divine Light of Christ Jesus in your own Consciences, that which Checketh and Reproveth you; when you speak or act that which is Evil, and come to Obey it; for it is the Way of Life, and will Led you, if you obey it, out of all Sin, Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts, into the Way of Life, and teach you to live Soberly, Righteously and Godly in this present Evil World; Then Peace with God will be the Portion of your Souls. The 15th of the 3d Month 1675 Written in Tender Bowels of Unfeigned Love to your Souls, by a Friend to all People, William Bennit. THE END.