A General Epistle, GIVEN FORTH From the Spirit of the Lord, to be Read in his Fear in the Assemblies of the Church of the FIRSTBORN, GATHERED In these Northern-Countries, and in all Countries and Islands where ever the People of the Lord are scattered over the Face of the EARTH.  
W. D.  
Printed in the Year, 1668.   

A General Epistle, etc.  
Dear Friends,  
CAlled in the Light of the Lord Jesus to stand Living Witnesses for him upon the Earth amongst the Children of men: Oh! the Bowels of the Love of the Lord that is in my heart to you, that when I was nigh unto death, to the light of all that saw me (as to the outward man) and scarce able to speak, I was constrained to give forth the substance of what is now sent amongst you, for a perfect discovery of your conditions; seeing that many are called, and few chosen; and many convinced that are not converted; therefore are these lines written, that you may truly know whether you be born again, and redeemed from the Hearth yea or nay. And in order thereunto, let every man and woman search their hearts with the Light of the Lord, and it will truly manifest whether you be born again, and so feed upon the Tree of Life; or otherwise you rest in outward formal conformity to the Truth, & the heart in the Earth, & that spirit will turn against Truth, and hath done: And some others are drawn to delight their hearts in the gifts, parts, and knowledge which the Lord hath given them, more than in the Lord, the Fountain from whence they come; and so abuse the gift, and feeds upon the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, which puffeth up, and maketh man wise in his own eyes, and say in his heart, I am wise, and rich, sees, and wants nothing; when they are blind, miserable, naked, and wants all things, and whatever any profess, as to the service of God, that is in this condition, they have an end to themselves in what they do, which grieveth the Spirit of the Lord, when men and women in a discoursitive spirit takes upon them to declare the Truth, when the Lord neither calls them, nor speaketh by them; so are the Children born of the Royal Seed burdened, (for such have turned against the Truth, and the Children born of it) whom the Lord hath and will ease in the day determined, when all mouths shall be closed in silence, but who are opened by him; and not any voice be heard, but his own Spirit speaking in and thorough his own Children, born of him, who alone seeks his glory, and not any thing for themselves which must be denied. Therefore seeing the Enemy's wiles are great and many; let all dread the Lord, and who have been led astray, wait in the heart-searching Light, to see the Mystery of Iniquity where it led them forth, and return to the Light to judge down proud exalted self, which hath turned against the Truth, and bring into true Poverty, and abhoring of self, to wait at the Throne of Grace, for the Lord to raise you up in the resurrection which raised up jesus from the dead; and in this life contentious Self is buried in death, and the true unity is known, where the Lord alone is exalted in purity, joy, love and peace in all his, from the least to the highest growth, and all Flesh abased before him, who is worthy of all obedience, praise and glory for ever, Amen.  
And all dear Friends and Brethren that love the Light, and rejoice in the Judgements of the Lord to have subtle Self buried in the true death, that what gifts of the Spirit soever the Lord gives unto you, and the Enemy tempt you never so strongly to puff you up in a self-priding spirit, in what you have received of the Lord; yet his fear is so minded by you, which keeps you in a true sense of your nothingness, and emptiness in yourselves, which causes you to wait in true self-denial, for the daily assistance and renewing of your strength in the resurrection of Life in the Lord Jesus; and the more he manifests his power with you, the more empty, and nothing you appear in your own eyes: And so is the true Birth known which makes Self of no reputation, that the Lord may be exalted in his unlimited power, in manifesting himself in the poverty, emptiness, and nothingness of his people, who are born of him, that not any Flesh may glory before him, but all in truth to say, The Lord doth all in me, and through me, and the Lord shall have the glory; and I will sit in the dust at his feet, with all my Brethren and Sisters, to serve him, and his people, (through whom we are raised up to sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,) in what I may, whilst I have a being amongst the Sons of men, to the glory of his Name for ever.  
And this is the state of the true Disciples of Christ, that cannot feed of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, although in your journey and travels (you dear Vessels of the Lord) you see the tree of Knowledge to be good, where it stands in its place, but the fruit is not good for to eat, and feed upon, because knowledge puffeth up, but grace maketh humble. Therefore dear Brethren and Sisters born of God, who cannot live in any enjoyment, but as you enjoy the Life and Presence of God, from whence every good and perfect gift comes.  
And dear Lambs, although some of you be, in your own eyes, the meanest amongst the People of the Lord; yea, at sometimes your trials is so great, that you are ready to account yourselves unworthy to be numbered amongst the People of the Lord, and yet you dare not disobey him, neither can you live without his presence.  
Oh, you dear Children of God I lift up your heads over all temptations and accusations of the Enemy, for your groans and cries are entered into the ●ars of the Lord God, who in the bowels of his Love and Mercies doth constrain me to proclaim the day of the tender compassion of the Lord, to all you who are truly poor in your spirits; Oh, blessed are you among the children of men! for yours is the Kingdom of God. Therefore be not weary of waiting upon the Lord, for in his own time he will turn your sorrows into joy, and give to you the spirit of praises, for the spirit of heaviness, as he hath done to many who have endured the like temptations, trials, and sufferings, under which you wait this day for deliverance, and the Lord will be the same to you; therefore be of good comfort, for as the Serpent was lifted up in the Wilderness, so is the Son of Man lifted up in the Light and Covenant of Life to heal your wounds, and save you from sin, and to give you victory over the Enemy in all his appearances; so that you thorough Faith in the Name of Christ, make war in righteousness; and fight the good Fight, in keeping the Faith, you will be made more than Conquerors thorough his Love that he will shed abroad in your hearts, which will cause you to speak of his goodness, and praise his Name for all his mercies.  
And all dear Children of the Lord, who do witness in measure that you are truly baptised into his Death, and so are made partakers of his Resurrection, as is before written, which is the Life that worships him according to his own Will, and so is truly accepted of him: therefore watch and pray that you may be guided in the power of his Spirit in all your ways: And be careful, that not any be hasty to utter words before the Lord; neither suffer any sighs or groans, or any thing to be heard to pass thorough you, but as you have the seal of the Spirit of the Lord, that he requires it of you; this I am commanded to lay, as a charge upon you, that so all Flesh may be truly silent before the Lord, and not any voice to be heard, but the living Spirit of the Lord speaking in his people; which you that wait in the fear of the Lord, and minds his leadings, may truly know, as it is written, so doth his Children witness, He that hath my Word, saith the Lord, let him speak my Word faithfully; Is not my Word like a Fire, and a Hammer, that breaks the Rocks in pieces: Therefore all mind to feel the Word of the Lord speaking in you, that the pure burning Life of the Spirit may be tasted and felt in whatsoever you be exercised in, that so you might be fully assured it is not your own work, as man speaking of God, but the Lord alone uttering his own voice in the forcible power of his own Spirit, in what you are exercised in, whether it be to pray in sighs or groans, or in words, or to speak in exhortation or praises, you are not to quench the Spirit of the Lord in this his day, that he is come and doth appear, in giving divers gifts unto his people, in his spiritual appearance, as he did amongst his Disciples who waited at jerusalem, for the pourings forth of his Spirit from on high; but they that were strangers to the work of the Spirit could not taste the Life that spoke in them; but said, They were mad and full of new wine, etc. but the Lord justified them, it being the work of his own Spirit; and although he gave unto them various gifts, yet all in the unity of himself, in which they sacrificed, in returning to the Lord his own with advantage, to the glory of his great Name, as his Children doth at this day; blessed be his Name for ever, that forth of the mouths of Babes his praise is declared, in their measures, as it is with those of higher growth in the Lord; and so do the faithful Labourers reap the fruit for which they travel, that all the people of the Lord may be filled with his Spirit, and in the exercise and leadings thereof, become a Body of Living Ministers, and a Family of Prophets, the strong leading the weak by the hand, and in tender love building up one another in their most holy Faith, which gives the victory over the World, to reign in the Heavenly Dominion, which causeth the Children of the Most High, in the Authority of the Lord to say to the greatest Persecutors; Oh man, do what thou hast power, the God whom we serve is able to deliver us out of thy hand; but if he will not, we are resolved in his strength to suffer what he permitteth man to do; and this is the holy resolution of all that is born again, and cannot hide your heads in the time of Persecution, because you are born of the Royal Seed, and have overcome the beggarly, cowardly, earthly spirit, thorough the blood of the Lamb, and the word of your testimony, and no more to love your lives to death.  
And all dear chosen Vessels of the Lord, seeing he hath manifested his grace so largely to you; with all diligence be obedient in walking answerably to his Love and Mercy received, that as Living Witnesses for God you may shine forth in the beauty of Holiness in all your ways; and be careful in keeping your meetings at the time appointed, every one endeavouring to be the first at the Meeting, that so not any give way to a careless spirit, as some have done, and so come to Meetings when others hath been a considerable time together, and so becomes a burden to the diligent and obedient Servants of the Lord; and so the Meetings are not so profitable to your comfort, as when you meet diligently at the time; waiting in the fear of the Lord to feel his sweet presence, which will keep you awake in the Life of his own Spirit, to the glory of his Name, and the comfort of one another, which will cause you to prise the opportunities God gives to you, not knowing how soon you may be deprived of them, etc.  
And be tender one over another, and watch over one another with a pure single eye; and every one see the Beam cast out of your own eye, before you go to spy a Mote in others: and if any Brother or Sister offend, you that know, speak to them privately, in all tenderness, to restore them; and this know, Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his ways, saves a soul from death, and hides a multitude of sins: but if they will not hear, take two or three more, and speak to them again, in the spirit of meekness, waiting and seeking the Lord for their recovery; but if they will not hear, but persist in wickedness, then acquaint the Church, whom the Lord in his Wisdom will order to deal with them for his own glory.  
And in all things you do, I dearly beseech you, do unto others as you would be done unto yourselves, that so you may all, in your measures, stand as saviours upon Mount-Sion, to the glory of the Lord, in the power of his own Spirit, which will cause the Whisperer, Backbiter, False-accuser, and Tale-bearer to be cleansed away, and cast out of the House of the Lord; that so, in the good order of the holy Spirit of our God, we may all live, that he alone in his Dominion may reign in us, and amongst us, whose Government is upon his shoulders, and all the Crowns of the glory of man cast down at his Feet, that he may be exalted in ordering every member of the Body in their place and service, to his everlasting praise and glory: Even so, dear Father, carry on thy work in all the Churches of the Saints, scattered over the face of the Earth, that in the Eternal unity they may be established in the Lord, being one, and his Name one, and all the contrary swept away with the Breath of thy Mouth, and brightness of thy coming; So come Lord Jesus, take to thee thy great Power, and reign in thy Authority in and amongst thy dear Children to the astonishment of the Nations, and all people that are not born again, and to the Exaltation of thy own Name and Kingdom over all, who is worthy to reign, blessed for ever, and of whose Dominion there is no end.  
And all you faithful Labourers in the Gospel of Christ, who in true innocency travel in his Strength, and seeks not any thing for yourselves in what you do, but to glorify the Lord in establishing his people in the Living unity, in his own Spirit: Oh, blessed are you amongst the people! my soul praises the Lord for you, and blesseth his Name that ever he raised up such a spirit in you, that in all the greatest riches of the gifts of the Spirit God gives to you, yet you remain truly poor in yourselves, and in deep humilty become Servants to his People for the Lords sake; and being poor you make many rich in that which will abide fresh and green in the Winter Storms, and will not fade away in the Terrible Blasts which will come for the trial of his People, and cause all hearts to fa●l, but what is born of his own nature. Oh, dearly beloved Brethren, feel my Bowels of enlarged love, which floweth to you in the Love and Life received and enjoyed thorough death, where there is no variableness nor shadow of change.  
I remain your Brother, in the Word of his Patience, to endure the Sufferings, according to his determination, with all that love the Lord better than their lives, William Dewsbury. Warwick the 14th of the 10th Month, 68