A Tender Visitation And Friendly EXHORTATION To all the children of Truth to be Valiant in this day of Trial.  
UNto you the chosen and beloved of God born of the Royal seed, and brought forth of the womb of eternal love, and children of one Father nursed and brought up by the nourishment of the sincere milk of the living eternal Word; growing into the stature of Christ and of his fullness receiving strength day by day, by which you are begotten unto this lively hope, to know the resurrection of the Just, and holy offspring and virtuous life of the only Son of God, who is the brightness of the father's glory, and is full of grace and truth: O how is my heart affected with the unchangeable love and life, which dwells with him for ever, who is the fountain of living water, and from him doth plentifully flow forth of the same, into the hearts of them that he hath freely called and chosen to bear his name in their foreheads, and hath received the lively image of his eternal power, which worketh mightily in all that believe, and have waited for his salvation, which is now revealed in this the day of his might and power; O the great and notable day of God that is come to us, with his wonderful arm of everlasting strength; to prepare us for himself, and to arm us with his armour that is invincible, that no assault of all the weapons of unrighteousness can prevail against. O now we are warriors in the lambs power, and with him do fight the great battle in this the day of God almighty; what remains for us? but to fill up the measure of his sufferings, that if we suffer with him, we may reign in the glorious life which riseth in our hearts, to give us the victory over sin, death and hell; and him that is the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now rules in the children of disobedience, which are such as disobeys the light by which they are lighted, and so persecutes the children of the light, and still invents new weapons of deceiveablness of unrighteousness, with their wiles and snares if it were possible to draw us into the pit of darkness, in which they wallow up and down, and are drunk with the spirit of darkness, which makes them reel to and fro, but God hath made known unto us the stable everlasting truth, and only way of salvation; that we may be a fixed people, not like wand'ring stars, nor blazing Comets to make a great appearance and show in the time of prosperity, when no persecution is, but when the Dragon is up with the strength of his power of darkness, and that he appears in the open field like Gog and Magog to incamp the Saints of the most high; And so appearing as if he would devour and swallow up, and destroy all before him; and when the Captain of the Philistine Band comes forth to defy the God of Israel, and to destroy his little Camp, than not to hide the head, but in the faith of little David to come forth, as with a sling and a stone to the wounding of this great Goliath, and so to discomfit the whole Host of the Philistine Band of carnal Warriors; O my friends, we do not now Wrestle with flesh and blood, but against principalities, and against powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this World, and against spiritual wickedness in high places, and therefore had need to be furnished with the spiritual Armour of God, and to be filled with his righteous power; And that now in this day to put on the whole armour of him; not here a little and there a piece, but to be like armed soldiers that is going into the open field, into a hot battle, and in the face of a cruel resolved enemy to kill and lay waste all before him; so that in this the day wherein every one having a testimony in their hearts for God may feel him preparing and furnishing them with a full resolution to encounter, and give this cruel resolved enemy battle, that we may see the Lord fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof; O my friends and brethren of this camp of God, we have a faithful and valiant Captain, whose cause it is that we are engaged in, and can there be a more Nobler and Honourable cause, than the cause we have undertaken, and God hath called us by the sound of his eternal Word, that hath awakened our hearts, and is a furnishing and arming of his with the spirit that yet was never overcome, nor conquered, nor never shall be; though many of his faithful Warriors have not loved their lives unto death for this cause, and so have fall'n a sleep as to the outward man; yet hath been Conquerors in the Lord, and life of the Lamb, over all the enemies, and have had an eternal Crown of life and peace set upon their heads. And so it's not being conquered because of suffering, but it's a Crown and Victory won by being faithful unto death, and continuing in the well-doing. And therefore this is a Visitation, and a brotherly and friendly Invitation or Exhortation to all to come forth in the true armour of light, to engage in faithfulness in this blessed War, and Work of God. O let none be entangled with the fears of the loss of this carnal outward life, neither let the hearts of any be encumbered with the many things of this World. O let all that makes mention of the name of the Lord and of his living truth, not be drawn aside from the holding of it forth, by any fears of the losing these outward enjoyments, but let all be given up to the Lord, and for his living truth, that must reign and rule for ever, that so none may lose their part and portion in it, when it shall have the throne over all. O we that are chosen and faithful, are the lambs Warriors, and must War in faithfulness unto the end of our race we have to run, while we have a being in this mortal, that mortality may be swallowed up of life. O every one that is turned to the light of the Lord, and from the darkness of this world is concerned in this day of the lambs War; and all who have waited for the great day of God's salvation, to be redeemed out of the many things into that World that hath no end; O the Kingdom that we War for, is glorious, and shall endure for ever; It is a Kingdom of righteousness and of peace; it's a Kingdom of life and love, rest and assurance for ever; a Kingdom that hath no end. It's a Kingdom that reigns over all the Kingdoms of men, and all that are begotten by the Word of this Kingdom, and into the measure of this hope to wait to feel the resurrection of the Just one, are subjects of this Kingdom, and have a part and portion therein, and so are concerned in the weighty matters of it. O my friends, let all that have a part and portion in this Kingdom of Peace; be as Israel of old in such a capacity as they were, that eat of the Passeover, ready with their staves in their hands to pass out of Egypt to the land of Rest, with resolved minds to encounter with all the difficulties that stands in the way, and that may pursue behind, that the Victory may be known to be obtained by the Lamb's power: O the Lord doth sight for Mount Zion, as I said, and for the hill thereof; and my dear friends, great is the love of God unto his people in this day, as in the days of old, and his Cause the same: And much more glory is to be revealed, it being the last days: O let none stay behind, but as the Lord invites and draws forth, and inclines the heart and mind, so let obedience be to him, and every one be ready prepared to take part with the sufferings for the Lords sake, and his innocent Cause in this day; And let every one take heed of that spirit that draws back, and seeks to hide its head till the storm be over, and leave some of the weak ones to the heat of the battle, who are but young and tender. O let the strong come forth and show their strength, that the weak may be strengthened, and the feeble be supported by their Valour and Faithfulness, that have had a time of growth, and have known the goings forth of the wondered power of God in the days that are past; when they were young and tender. O it is a day that every one must be tried, and the faithfulness of the upright to be known; therefore let every one shake themselves from the dust of this world, and put on strength and courage to come forth, to meet with the dark enemy by the arm of light to encounter with him, and to put him to flight in all his shifts, and holes in which he seeks to hide his head, and ever and anon to start forth when he thinks he hath advantage to deceive, and if he cannot deceive by his wiles and subtleties, than he will with rage and furious madness come forth to devour and destroy if he could the innocent; Yet so to be found like valiant soldiers of the Lamb, as not to start back, nor be afraid of any of his assaults, wiles, threats, nor cruelties, but to stand still in the strength of the Lamb's power, in which the victory is obtained over all, and certainly the victory is sealed unto the faithful Warriors and followers of the Lamb, and we do see and feel that Victory is obtained, and obtaining day by day, so that the Lord is known to take part with his innocent people in this the day of his mighty power, and we are more than conquerors in the life of the Lamb, which is over all; And that in the time of the greatest need he is near unto, to stand by and defend us, and to plead the cause of himself that he hath be trusted us with, and hath counted us worthy to suffer for, and to bear in our bodies the dying of our Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh, so that his life may reign and rule in all our hearts, and we to be subject to him, so that we may reign with him, as certainly we shall and do; as we suffer with him, and therefore let us arm ourselves with patience, and wait to be armed with his power in a holy resolution, and with a godly fear and sincerity to undergo a great fight of affliction, and to endure hardship as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, and not to fear none of the threats nor cruel dealings of our adversaries, nor to be afraid of departing from our native countries, and relations, which may be near and dear to us, but let the precious truth of our God be unto us the nearest and dearest of all. And let us give up life and liberty, and all unto the Lord, who takes care for us, and will never leave any that trust in him. And this is my friendly exhortation, and brotherly invitation to all the followers of the Lamb, in this the day of his battle and war with the dragon and his power. Dear friends, great is my love unto you all, who are faithful, and great is the tender desires and breathe of my life for all the weak and feeble ones, and strong is the consolation that will be witnessed in all that stands out of themselves in this day of trial. And in that which teacheth to deny self, in which the comfort and consolation is known which is beyond all words. And so in the living eternal Word of God, which lives and abides for ever, feel to live in, in all times that in it you may be enriched with all spiritual Wisdom and understanding, and so to depart from all that that would lead from God into the love of this world from which we are called, for therein is the darkness and the death, therefore let none of us in this day love the world, nor the things of the world, knowing this, that he that loveth the World, the love of the Father is not in him; so the mighty God of my life and my strength preserve you in the pure fear of his great Name, that is become as a pleasant ointment to all his beloved Virgins, which are chaste unto him, and not joined unto any other lover, but he alone is the only beloved of their souls; so my dear friends and brethren, in what state and condition of sufferings you be, or out of sufferings let us all be ready with our Lamps trimmed and burning, that when the Lord calls to do his will for us to be witnesses for his Name sake, we may be always ready, and casting of every weight and burden, that nothing may hinder us in our journey to War with the power of darkness that is risen to make War with the Lamb and his followers, but that we may follow the Lamb whether-soever he goes: And so this is my friendly Visitation unto you, and a bidding of you to farewell in the God of my life, who is my rest and peace in this time of my outward imprisonment for the testimony of his everlasting truth, and by the wills of men sentenced for Transportation, but free in him who hath made free from sin and death, and hath set our feet upon the everlasting rock, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. But in the everlasting arm of his Power, we shall be kept for ever as we follow him fully, so God Almighty preserve you all. Amen saith my soul.  
William Brend. From Newgate, London the 20. of the 11. month. 1664.  
THE END.