THE Warnings of the Lord TO THE King of England AND HIS Parliament. As they were Wrote, and Sent, By his Servant, George Bishope. Shalt thou Reign because thou closest thyself in Cedar? Did not thy Father Eat, and Drink, and do Judgement and Justice, and then it was well with him? He Judged the Cause of the Poor and Needy; than it was well with him. Was not this to know me saith the Lord? Jer. 22. 15, 16. London, Printed in the Year, 1667. The Warnings of the Lord, etc. To thee CHARLES STUART King of England, am I moved of the Lord to write; and to Thee it is the Visitation of his Love through him, whose travel hath been for Thee, in the depth of my spirit, that Thy Soul may be saved in the Day of the Lord; Therefore hear, that thy Soul may live, and thy Days be prolonged in the Days of thy Pilgrimage. FRIEND, THou hast been a man of Sufferings, and deep sorrows have passed over thee; the Lord (at length) hath brought Thee into a Land of Peace, and set thee upon thy Father's Throne, and bowed the hearts of the People under thee; so, and after such a manner, as was beyond the thoughts of thee, or any, that thus it should be. And now what remaineth, but that thou love the Lord, and fear before him all thy days; that it may be well with thee, and thy posterity after thee; and for this purpose, that thou heed his Principle in thee, which shows the Evil, the End and Compass of all thy Actions, the thoughts of thy heart, and thy secrets upon thy Bed, that so out of, and from Transgression thou mayest come, and be led into the Kingdom of God, which consists in Righteousness and Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghost; and the Blessing of God may be on Thee, and peace and rest within thy Borders. For, of this thou art not ignorant, as having largely tasted of the Cup, that man suffereth for sin, and that Promotion cometh neither from the East nor from the West, nor from the North nor from the South; but God is Judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another; who is come to set his King upon his holy Hill of Zion; his Principle in Man to reign for ever; Unto which men shall bring the force of the Gentiles; and their Kings shall be brought, and the glory of Lebanon shall come; the Fir-tree, and the Pinetree, and the Box-tree (men of all sorts) together, to beautify the place of his Sanctuary, who will make the place of his feet glorious: and the Nation and Kingdom that will not serve, it shall perish; yea, those Nations shall be utterly wasted, and the Sons of those that afflicted it shall come bending unto it, and all those that despised it shall bow themselves down at the soles of its feet; and they shall call it The City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel; and whereas it hath been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through it, he will make it an Eternal Excellency, a Joy of many Generations, it shall also suck the Milk of the Gentiles; and the Breasts of Kings, and it shall know that the Lord is its Saviour and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. In its days Judah shall be saved, and Israel dwell safely, and the Name by which it shall be called, is The Lord our Righteousness; and it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth which brought the children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt, but The Lord liveth which brought up, and which led the Seed of the house of Israel out of the North-Country, and from all Countries whither the Lord had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own Land, the Lord hath spoken it. And the day is come wherein the Lord hath raised unto David a Righteous Branch, and a King reigneth and prospereth that executes Justice and Judgement in the Earth, whose Dominion is an Everlasting Dominion, and his Kingdom that which shall not pass away, in which Thou mayest Reign and Live for Ever. Moved of the Lord God Almighty, the maker of Heaven and Earth, who hath seen thine Affliction and Adversity, and delivered thee in much Bowels of Love, am I thus to write, whom the world in scorn calls, Quaker, but am known by the Name. George Bishope. Bristol, the 27th of the 4th Month, 1660. Give this to the King. The Original of this was delivered into the King's Hand at White Hall by Mary Saunderson. To the King of England, these are from the Movings of the Lord, in Love and Pity to warn him to take heed how he hath to do in Banishing the Friends of Truth, called Quakers, or in making Laws against them, or in Suffering such as do, or in Signing such Bills, or Yielding to them, or suffering them to Pass, or to become Laws, or to be Executed upon them, so as that they are Banished this Land, or Removed out of this Nation, or Caused so to be, or otherwise to Suffer, FRom the Lord God of Heaven and Earth, the Almighty, am I moved to write, and to Thee it is the Word of the Lord, Sign them not, nor Consent unto them; For thou knewest the heart of a Stranger, when thou wast an Exile in other Countries, and wanderedst from one Nation to another People, seeking rest and finding none; and thine Enemies were great and many, and thou wast disappointed in all thou undertookest, and thou couldst not prosper, nor was there a reasonable ground of Hope as to Man, that ever thy Exilement should return, especially so as it is now, and so soon as now, and so great and large as now, even beyond the Glory of thy Progenitors; yet this the Lord did for thee when thou wast low, and little in thine own Eyes, and when, of Thy People, there were none to deliver Thee; and he heard thy Cries, and thy Groans, and thy Sighs, who wast a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with Grief, and Delivered thee, and placed thee upon the Throne of these Nations, and bowed them unto thee, and hath kept them under; so that no evil occurrent that could hurt thee hath fallen out unto thee, since thou first puttest thy foot on the English Shore upon thy Return, and on thy bended knees spakest unto the Lord, and gavest thanks unto him that had done this for Thee. Now in the sense of this, it is good for thee to abide and remain always; so the remembrance of the Lord will be near thee, who hath done all this for thee, and thy heart will be still tender to those who are in such a condition as thou wast, and so far from putting others there (even the Innocent, of whom thou hast a Witness in thee, that they are Innocent as to thee, viz. the People of the Lord called Quakers, to Banish, and to do otherwise unto whom, thou art now called upon) which can never be blotted out, that thou wilt not be at rest till thou hast relieved such as are in the condition of these; and so the Blessing of God will be upon thee, as thou continuest to do to others as he hath done to thee; and increase of kindness, and largeness of Love wilt thou receive of him, as thou measurest back again unto others, unto his People, as he hath measured unto thee; and so thou remember'st the Lord. And this (as I have said) will be good for thee to do, that it may be well with thee as to the Lord, who is able to pull thee down as he hath set thee up, and by a fire unblown to consume thee; shouldest thou forget the Lord, and all his Benefits which he hath showed unto thee, and his large lovingkindness beyond all that have gone before thee? Now as to us, Behold! we are in the hand of the Lord, and we feel his Arm and Power with us, who will never leave us, nor forsake us, who put our trust in him, and his Presence will be enough for us, wherever he suffers us to be sent or put, or however to suffer, who is Lord of Heaven and Earth, whom we have proved and tried, and found so to us all our days, since we were a People, and he hath born us through all hitherto, and will do to the end, all that abide with him; and so we are not in consultation, nor is this sent to bespeak any thing from thee besides the Will and Purpose of the Lord, whose Will we are come to do, and to glorify his Name in the world, and to show that he is with us, as we shall be put to it, to glorify his Name, who hath delivered our Souls from the Pit, and our Lives from destruction, and hath caused us to hear the Voice of Joy and Gladness, so that the Bones that he hath broken do rejoice, and we rejoice to do his Will, in doing or suffering whatsoever is his Will we should do or suffer, without whose sufferance we know nothing can be done unto us; and we feel him who is the Rock of Ages, who is able yea and will uphold us who trust in him. But it is for thy sake I writ, and in Love to thee, and tender Compassion as I am moved of the Lord, that thou mayest not do the thing that may make him repent of all his kindness to thee-wards, and provoke him to undo thee, as he hath made thee up. For certainly, if thou shalt do this thing, and seek to remove and root out, and otherwise to suffer such a Body of many thousands of Families in these Nations, of us who fear the Lord, who are Natural English, and have a Natural Right, as much as any to reside and be in our Native Country, and to enjoy our Liberties and Estates, as to the Lord, free; whom thou foundest here, when thou camest in, thy Friends, and suffering by them who were thy Enemies, and who have not been (nor are) in Thought, in Word, or in Deed otherwise since thy coming in; but desiring the welfare of thy Soul and Body (which we do desire) and of thy Dominions, and are Peaceable in the Land, as the Lord is Witness, and that of him in thy Conscience: this the Lord will take ill at thy hands, and he hath moved me to tell thee so, and will prove thy Ruin; and it is better for thee to have all the World, than the Lord thine Enemy, and upon such an account, as in the behalf of an Innocent People, Suffering so by Thee. And this we would not have on any hand as to thee, may it so stand in the will of God, and therefore hath he moved me to write thus unto thee, whose pity is to thee, that thou mayest not do that which will cause his hand to be against thee. And so in the Bowels of the Lord, and even in Tears of Compassion to thy Soul and Body, to thy Dominions and People do I write, who have my Witness with the Lord, and shall have in Thee, that I seek thy welfare, and that in this thing, which will leave thee without Excuse in the Day of the Lord, if thou harken not. For which cause, even that it may be well with thee, it is written in the Move of the Lord, through His Servant and Thy Friend, who truly desires the Welfare of thy Soul and Body in this World, and that which is to come. George Bishope. Bristol, the 2d of the 1st▪ Month, 1661/2: The Original of this was delivered into the King's Hand, by Mary Saunderson aforesaid. To the King of England. FRIEND, THink it not enough for thee, or sufficient, or that it will excuse thee before the Lord, that thou hast not Signed the Bill for the Banishment of his People Thyself, but hast appointed Commissioners; for what they have done, they did it by Authority of Thee, and by thy Commission; so what thy Commissioners have done Thou hast done, and what Thou hast done, thy Commissioners have done, and so the Lord God looks upon it, and will require it of Thee. And now, Friend, let me a little reason with thee, and give the Sufferers leave to speak concerning this matter. What have the People called Quakers done unto Thee, thy Soul or Body, thy Crown or Dignity since they were a People, and since thou hast had footing lately in this Nation, that thou thus dealest with them? What is their Offence, what's their Crime, that they should be thus despoiled of their Natural Right to reside and be in their Native Country, and be thus dealt with contrary to Nature? Hast thou not proved them and tried them? and upon proof and trial, hast thou found the least Spot or jota in them of Rebellion, as to Thee, of Disaffection, of Offence? Have not Times tried them? Have not Prisons? Have not Sufferings? Have not great and sor● Sufferings tried them when they so suffered and yet were without Offence as to God and Man? Had a Spirit of Rebellion lodged in them, a spirit of Revenge or Dissatisfaction as to Thee; Alas! what could be expected, but that, as Men, who perfectly understand their own Liberty, and knew how, as Men, to engage for it, they should rather die, and put all to the hazard at one Shock to end their Sufferings either on or in the Earth, then to be continually Offered up, as it were, They, their Wives, Children and Relations, Estates and Families, to the unlimited rage and wickedness of Men, and to the changableness of Days (which hath always hung over them after this manner) to do with them what they pleased? And yet they have a Witness with the Lord, and also among Men, that had they stood it out as men (as they might have done) unto which they were courted, and that not a little; Thou hadst hardly, if at all (at least, with more difficulty) have set foot on this Nation; but they refused, choosing rather to leave the issue to the Lord (as to their Liberty, which seemed, as to men, more than probably gone) as to what should befall them, then to take part with thine Enemies against thee; and to appear (as indeed they did) rather in the naked simplicity of their Innocency, as to thee, as their Sword and Buckler, then with a Created Weapon, or such like Provision, to bespeak, or cover them; and how they have always appeared after this manner to this day before thee, thou knowest; and they have a Witness in thee which can never be blotted out, viz. That they are Innocent, and have, and do desire really in their hearts as much Good will to thee, thy Prosperity and Welfare, thy Soul and Body, thy Crown and Dignity, as thou canst wish. The sense whereof, and the Witness of which in thee, is that which hath made thee so to them as thou hast been, and to speak so freely to them of their Liberty, and to Promise them in the Word of a King; And, Ye have the Word of a King for it— You shall not suffer for your Opinion,— or words to that purpose, which without any pre-desire of theirs, thou hast spoken to them. And for this (as they certainly know, and it hath been sealed upon them by the Spirit of the Lord, unto whom they give the Praise and Glory) thou hast not been without a Reward from the hand of the Lord, who hath covered thee, and preserved thee so, as no Enemy hath been able indeed to put thee to it, or so as considerably to trouble thee, though thou came in on such a ticklish foot as thou knowest, and though the matter of so many hundreds of thousands (who in their hearts think themselves aggrieved by thee, and in the capacity of Ruin, or are already so) within these Nations, might hav● put thee to it; so as thou hast hid his Outcasts, and been a hiding place for them, and a Covert from the face of the Spoiler, and hast let his Outcasts dwell with thee, he hath been a hiding-place to thee, and a Covert from the face of them who would r●●● up against thee, and spoil thee, whom he hath bou●d under, and not hitherto suffered to rise up against thee, so as to hurt thee, or to put so much as a divertisement from that Refreshing which the Lord hath given thee from all thy Troubles. And indeed, this they could desire (in the Will of the Lord, or if the Lord so please) That this might be thy portion for ever; Viz. Peace within thy Walls, and Prosperity within thy Palaces in this World, and in that which is to come, Life Everlasting. For on this foot they are, and have been, and shall be ever found to be (through the grace of the Lord) viz. To pray for their Enemies (much more for Thee, who hast been so friendly to them) to do good to those that hate them; to bless them that Persecute them,— That so they may appear to be the Children of their heavenly Father; who causeth his Rain to rain, and his Sun to shine, on the Just and the Unjust: and that his Dominion also may be made manifest in them, in being Vnmovable in all their Sufferings. This was, and is their state as to thee, and from this have they not declined, to the Right hand or to the Left, or swerved in the least, God is Witness, and his Witness in Thee will testify to them▪ How is it then (if I may so Reason with thee, and suffer me to do it, for I am moved to it of the Lord) that thou now thus dealest with them? What's their Crime? What is their Offence (as I have said) more now then heretofore? (who were, and are without Offence or Fault, as to thee) Wherein are they changed? (as thou thinkest, if so be yet thou dost so think, & they are not apt to believe that thou thinkest so, upon whatsoever grounds thou hast done this, because the Witness of God, they believe, in thee is otherwise) or, are they at all changed from what they were as to thee, that thou art so changed from what thou wast unto them? Or wherein have they given thee Cause to be Otherwise to them then thou hast been, or to Break thy Promises and Free Engagements to them? They would willingly understand, and it concerns them to seek it, and they desire it of thee, if there be any such thing, or if it be so supposed by thee; that they might make their Defence, and not suffer as Evil Doers, who are Innocent; and if they are not Evil-doers, why are they made to Suffer? At least in the understanding of People, who hear of their Banishment, they will be supposed so to be, because so great a Suffering supposes an Offence proportionable to the Suffering, or that deserves such a Suffering; therefore it is but Equal and Right what they desire, and not to be denied by thee. If they are not changed, but are the same still in thy Judgement, and that they are guilty of no other thing, or are no otherwise guilty than they appeared at first, and have all along unto thee; that is to say, That they are the same persons in Judgement and Practice as they were at first, and have been still, because of which (that is to say) as Innocent as to thee, and their Liberty consisting in thy Understanding with thy Rule and Government (why else didst thou so promise them? why else hast thou been so unto them?) thou so promisedest, and hast been so unto them. If these things be so (and so they are) how then comes this to be? Thinkest thou that the Lord doth not see? that the God of Jacob doth not regard? He that planted the Ear, shall he not hear? He that form the Eye, shall he not see? He that Chastiseth the Heathen, shall he not Correct? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall he not know? Is it a small matter thus to deal with an Innocent People? Will not the Lord regard it? Will not he consider it? Can he look upon it (who is of purer Eyes than to behold Evil and cannot look upon Iniquity) and not require it? Did he require it of this Generation, who turned from the Lord, what they did to Thee; and will he not require of Thee what thou dost to them who are turned to the Lord? Shall not the Judge of the whole Earth do right? Can the Judge of the whole Earth do otherwise then Right? Will he not Judge the Earth with Righteousness, and the People with Truth? And cometh he not to do it, and to render unto every man according to his Deeds? And will not this be heavy for thee in the Day of Account, wherein every one shall be rewarded as his work shall be? In the fear of God, mind and consider, for he hath done much for thee, and much will he require of thee. Thy welfare I desire, and for that cause do I write, not to remove Sufferings from those People in the Will of God (for they are made willing to serve his Will in doing or suffering, as I have written to thee) or to bespeak them, as to thee, free from suffering otherwise then in the Will of God, whom they reverence and fear; or for any thing of that Nature: I say again, do I thus write, but in tenderness to thee; For when the Lord cometh to reckon, this will be hard for thee. And this I know assuredly from the Lord, and I have his Word for it, who hath moved me to write, and he hath moved me to write, that thou mayest yet withhold the Execution of Suffering upon them, which if thou dost not, but shalt suffer these things to be, the Lord will be thine Enemy; and he will withdraw from thee, as he hath been with thee, and will let lose that against thee, which he hath hitherto kept from thee, and thou wilt be made desolate. George Bishope. Bristol, the 6th of the 3d Month, 1662. To the King of England, these. To the KING of England, these. FRIEND, THere is but a Minute between thee, and the breaking forth of the fierce Anger of the Lord against thee, if thou Release not presently his People, who sorely suffer by thee in noisome Goals, and that unto Death. Moved of the Lord I am to write this to Thee, who am Thy Friend who truly Loves Thee. George Bishope. Bristol, the 5th. of the 10th. Month, 1662. This was wrote when multitudes of Friends were Imprisoned, especially in Newgate London, where many died through the Inhumanities' of the Goal; being so many put together, that there was not room to lodge one by another on the Ground, and Infection grew through want of Room and Liberty; Shortly after the Delivery of which, an Order was granted, by which these in Newgate London had their Liberty. To the King and his both Houses of Parliament, This is the Word of the Lord. Friends, YE stand in a slippery place, whilst ye take upon ye to meddle with his Dominion who lives for Ever. For the Conscience he hath placed in Man as his particular Witness, and his Seat through all Generations, who hath given the Earth unto the Children of Men. So see what ye do in this particular, for if ye set free that which only can be bound by him, and not make Men to suffer for their freedom of Conscience, you are upon a ●oot which will preserve you for ever, and perpetuate your station to all Generations; for herein the Lord will be with you, and preserve your station; whilst you stand with him; and he being with you, who can be against you? For his Presence makes the Earth to tremble, and the Isles to be afraid; and the Mountains to leap, and the little Hills to skip, and the Sea to be driven back, whilst he makes a way for his Ransomed to pass over. Therefore fear and tremble before the Lord God of Hosts, who divideth the Sea, and it is driven back; who maketh the Waters to stand as upon heaps, who declareth to man his thought; The Lord of Hosts is his Name. And let his Dread be upon you, so you will be kept, and his particular Rule will be in your Conscience, and his Dominion set up, who is Lord of all; and so ye will be preserved from entrenching on his Sovereignty, when he as Sovereign rules in you, and from encroaching on his Prerogative, when it is your Prerogative to rule with the Lord; and from being at a stand what is his Will, when in you his Will Rules; and the Blessing of God will be upon you, whilst you Rule with God, and your Rule is his Will. For here hath been the Undoing of Men in all Generations, and that which hath Ruined Kingdoms and Nations. Another thing then the Will of God hath been their Rule, which God being against, and that thing against God, a War hath been, and God being the stronger, they have come to nought. For, Who would set the Briars and Thorns against me in Battle? (saith the Lord) I would go thorough them, I would burn them together. So then the Interest of Kings and Nations, of Governments, and Rulers of Kingdoms and People, and their Peace and Prosperity, is the Will of God, and to do that which is wellpleasing to him; that so it may be well with them, and their Posterity after them, and the Earth may give forth its increase, and God even our God may bless us, and give us every good thing. And so your Prosperity I wish, who am moved of the Lord thus to write unto you, and whose Word it is. George Bishope. Bristol, the 14th of the 12th Month, 1662. The Contents of this was Printed, and Delivered at the Door of each House of Parliament to the Members, and also to the King. To the King of England, These. FRIEND, BY thy late Declaration thou hast set thyself upon the Stage of the World, and all Eyes are upon thee to see what thou wilt do, and it concerns thee to endeavour the uttermost of what thou hast spoken; and if thou wilt, who shall let thee? For Liberty of Conscience being allowed to all Professions of Religion without restriction, as it is a thing most Natural, so it will prove most conducing to the Peace and safety of thy Dominions, and in order to the Preservation of thy Renown to all Generations, and thy Welfare for ever. And this I am moved of the Lord to write unto thee, that he expects this at thy hands, seeing that through all Professions of Religions (which kept thee out) he brought thee in upon thy Declaration from Breda, of Liberty of Conscience to all Professions of Religion, which on thy part thou hast enjoyed, that is to say, Thy full settlement on the Throne of thy Fathers, beyond that of thy Progenitors, and should be on theirs; besides it is the due homage, and subjection thou owest to him who is Lord of all; whose is Conscience, as his particular Dominion, who is Lord of Conscience. And this I have further to say to thee from the Lord; That on this foot stands thy Welfare, and Prosperity for ever; for under the deepest Obligation that can be, thou art to God, and Man in this Particular; To God, who hath done all this for thee, beyond thy hopes, whose Lordship it is; To Man, who hath suffered it to be, in hope of this, and upon thy Promise, whose is the Right. Now for thee to vary or decline from this, to both, or either, will render thee the most miserable of Men, as to God, who sees in secret the thoughts and intents of thy heart, who will give unto thee according to thy Deeds; as to Man, who will not believe thee; and thy Faith and Reputation being lost, in such a weighty matter as this, what wilt thou do in the day when sorrows and distress shall attend thee every where, and Despairation lead the forlorn of all thy Undertake? And this I would not have, the Lord is my Witness, for my Love is truly to thee, and therefore as moved of the Lord, do I write; for such will be the Concomitants of thy Variation from this; It is the Word of the Lord, And so the Lord God Eternal open thine Eyes, and let thee see in this thy Day the things that belong unto thy Peace. It is the Prayer of him who is in due sense of thy Condition, and of what is near, for the hour is great. And so I am clear of thee thus far in the sight of the Lord, whose Prosperity I wish. George Bishop. Bristol, the 22th of the 11th Month 1662. The Original, of which this is a Copy, was delivered into the hand of the King at White Hall, by Elizabeth Baily, it being wrote and sent upon his Second Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, which was after he came from Breda into England. To the King and his both Houses of Parliament once more am I moved of the Lord to write, and indeed bear with me, and let it not seem grievous unto you, what I have to say, for it is in Love. FRIENDS, THe Lord hath determined to keep his Throne in the Consciences of Men, and whosoever they are that shall seek to put him out there, those will the Lord put out, and they that endeavour to Justle him there, them will he Justle, and they shall know that he is The Lord. Therefore, my Dear Friends, in Bowels of Love I beseech you have not a hand in any such thing, lest his wrath break out against you, and his fury take hold of you, and there be no Remedy. For from the Lord God of Hosts have I received it, and whatsoever may come of it as to me for so doing, which I leave to the Lord, I must be faithful unto you, and testify it; yea, woe would be unto me if I did it not; if you do so, so it will be; it is the Word of the Lord. Therefore my Dear Friends, I again beseech you in the tenderest expression of Love that possible can flow from a heart that is well affected to you (whose welfare I desire) strike not at the Rock of Ages in this, lest he dash you to pieces. It is the Word of the Lord. And so I have finished what I have to say to you in the name of the Lord. George Bishope. Bristol, the 14th of the 1st. Month, 1662/●. Copies of the Original of this, word for word, were delivered the King, and the Speakers of both Houses, written and Sealed by Mary Jones. To the King and both Houses of Parliament, Thus saith the Lord. MEddle not with my People because of their Conscience to me, and Banish them not out of the Nation because of their Conscience, for if you do, I will send my Plagues upon you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. Written in Obedience to the Lord, by his Servant George Bishope. Bristol, the 25th of the 9th Month, 1664. The very Day that the next were sent out of Newgate, London, in order to Banishment, the long sore Plague broke out in London, over against the House of one of those who that day was sent from Newgate aforesaid, into Banishment, whose Name is Edward Brush, who was sent to Jamaico. To the King of England; These. FRIEND, THou goest the wrong way to work, and that which in the End will prove thy Ruin. Thou shouldst not deal thus with us who are not thine Enemies, but in thought and deed desire thy welfare. How many Women (in a manner) art thou making Widows, and their Children Fatherless? How art thou shipping them off their Native Country, and rendering them as the worst of Men, and the most miserable of Mankind? who in no other thing are offensive to thee, or do transgress thy Laws, then as to their Conscience to God, in relation to his Worship, who will be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth; and such Worshippers the Father seeks to worship him. How art thou going to undo thousands of Families in this Nation, because of their Obedience to him, who dare not do otherwise lest they should displease him that gives them their Being? How art thou rendering thy Dominion Monstrous, and thy Rule among men very unreasonable, who wilt not do unto other men, what thou wouldst be done unto thyself; who wouldst not be so done unto, as thou dost to others thyself? Thou knowest the heart of a Stranger, and hast been an Exile thyself; Thou knowest what it cost thee, and how ill thou tookest it at their hand that thus did to thee, though they pretended a Cause wherefore they so did it; How comes it to pass that thou hast so soon forgotten thine Old Estate, which not long since thou wast so displeased with, that thou art putting Innocent Men, and thy Friends without a Cause (as to God) on that which Thou and thy Laws call Transportation and Banishment? I am grieved in my heart for thee, because I have loved thee, and desired in my heart thy welfare, I could weep for thee day and night, if so be thereby thou mightest be made sensible; I am under a deep load of affliction, and am even ready to sink for thy sake, in consideration of what is coming upon thee; I am in great bitterness for thy Day, I am even distressed with sorrow, because the Mighty God is coming against thee, and he whose is Conscience, and the dominion thereof, who will be worshipped as he pleaseth, not as thou wilt, is brandishing his Sword against thee, and will lay thee desolate. Therefore yet let my words have entrance into thine Ears, and what I speak unto thee prove of Effect; stay thy Steps, and withdraw thine hand from us, meddle not with us, lest the Anger of the Lord break forth upon thee and there be no remedy. I am not as those who hid things in corners, and withhold from thee what are the thoughts of my heart, but as one who would have it as well with thee as thou canst desire thyself, who would have all evil turned from thee, and that length of Days and Prosperity might attend thee for Ever. So have I written, and in nothing could I prove my faithfulness so unto thee then in so doing; for I am sensible of the Lords Anger against thee for this thing, and his Fury, which will take hold of thee if thou shalt not desist; and therefore, as at all other times since thy Return, I have taken the Opportunity both by Writing and otherwise, to signify unto thee what I have seen from the Lord, as to this thing, which (for aught I ever heard, thou hast friendly received, so in this, being weighed in my spirit, and in deed distress and sorrow for thee, I could no less, being moved of the Lord, and required of him) then to discharge myself once more to thee, desiring for thy sake, that what I have here written may have place with thee, that the Anger of the Lord burn not so against thee that there be none to quench it. And so I commit what I have said to the Lord, to do by it and me, whatever may seem good in his sight; who have no other end in all this, but in Obedience to the Lord to clear my Conscience as to thee, who know nothing of an outward Sword, or any such thing, when I so speak, but only the displeasure of the Lord, which I am sure is near thee; who can create thee trouble as he thinks fit, which I would not have upon thee, and therefore have I written, who am, Thy Friend, though a Sufferer at thy hands. George Bishope. Bristol, the 23d. of the 2d. Month, 1665. The Original of this was delivered into the Kings Own Hand by Mary Jones. To the King of England these. To the King of England, This is the Word of the Lord. THink not because I have given thee dominion over the Dutch, that thou shalt escape my hand, if thou continue to send away my People, whom thy Laws have condemned to be Banished their Native Country. For, if thou dost, I will send my Plagues on thee, and thou shall know, that I am the Lord. Written in Obedience to the Lord by his Servant, George Bishope. Bristol, 16th. 4th. Month, 1665. This was wrote a little after the first Engagement with the Dutch, wherein Opdam their Admiral was blown up, and the Original thereof the King received in James Park, from the the hand of Elizabeth Baily. THE END.