A Faithful Testimony FOR THE LORD: Wherein is PROCLAIMED THE Mighty Day of his Power. ALSO,  
An Exhortation of love unto all young Children, with young Men and Maidens, whose hearts are tender towards the Lord.  
By One whom it pleased the Lord to manifest himself unto now in the days of my youth, and hath given me cause never to forget him, whom it pleased to call me from amongst my Relations, to bear Testimony unto his Name, when I was about Eleven years of Age.  
Who am known to the World by the name of John Gibson.  
He that answereth to a matter before he hears it, is as if he cast a stone up into the Air, and it falleth upon his own head.  
LONDON, Printed in the Year 1663.   

To THE READER.  
FRiend, whosoever thou art that reads this Testimony or Exhortation, read it without prejudice in thy heart, and despise it not because of my youth, for the Lord can manifest himself unto whom he pleases, and make instruments for his praise of whom he will; and therefore how excellent is his name in all the earth, who hath set his glory above the Heavens, and out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger, Psal. 8.12. I thank thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them even unto babes, Mat. 11.25. Let no man despise thee because of thy youth, but be thoa an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity, 1 Tim. 4.12 And so read with understanding, and without prejudice, that thou mayest receive the benefit of it, etc.  
This is the mighty day of the Lords power, and of his heavenly love & mercy, unto the Sons & Daughters of men; wherein he hath made bare his arm, in the hearts of his people, and hath caused the light of his glory to shine, and the beauty of his countenance to be lifted up amongst the Sons of Zion, and the Daughters of Jerusa●em, which causes our souls to rejoice, and our hearts to be more glad; than they who have had great increase of corn, oil, and wine, etc.  
And therefore the day of true rejoicing is come unto all the mourners in Zion, and true gladness I do proclaim unto all the heavy-hearted in Jerusalem; for the Lord, the mighty God of Heaven and Earth is risen and arising in his mighty power, and in his  strength, to break down all the powers of darkness, and all the strong holds of Satan, wherein he hath lodged this many years, and made war with the Lamb, and oppressed the just in many thousands: But now is the Lord risen in his mighty power to plead the cause of his oppressed seed, which hath been deeply oppressed both inwardly and outwardly, by, and in many thousands, and which hath been sore weighed, and grievously loaden, and deeply oppressed with the heavy clods of the earth, which the heart of man hath been affected with, and drawn after, which hath caused the innocent seed of life to suffer under an heavy and grievous burden; the remembrance of which hath often broken my heart, and caused me to cry out in the integrity thereof, and in the bitterness of my Spirit, O Lord, O Lord wilt thou not hasten the deliverance of thy seed, and make a speedy work in the earth, and cut it short in righteousness, for thy name's sake, and for thy glory, and for thy seeds sake which lieth in bordage, and in strait captivity both inwardly and outwardly? and thus have I been constrained to cry often unto the Lord even in my infancy, and this cry yet remains in my heart: O Lord, O Lord, when wilt thou remove the Rod of the wicked from off the back of the righteous? O let it not always lie upon them: This cry hath often run through me unto the Lord, and I have often received an answer from the Lord, and for the seeds sake am I constrained to publish it.  
Thus saith the Lord, concerning the seed which is heir of the Kingdom, and of the promised Land, I can never forget it, for it is as the apple of mine eye, and it's very tender in my sight; though a woman may forget her sucking child, yet I can never forget that babe which I have begotten though it be yet unbtought forth, and I will remember all my promises saith the Lord, which I promised unto my servant Abraham in the days of old, and in the years past, concerning his seed, that in his seed, shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed, Gen. 1▪ 2.3 Chap. 28.28. And I have remembered (saith the Lord) all the afflictions of my people, and all the sufferings of my innocent ones, and there shall not one of them be forgotten in the day of account, for they are all recorded in a book not written with ink nor pen, but with my Spirit, saith the Lord; and I will remove the rod of the wicked from off the backs of the righteous, in my time, which shall be in season, which time and season shall be a blessed and a joyful time unto all that fear and obey my name, and wait in patience to see it accomplished; but it shall be a terrible and a dreadful day unto all the opposers of me and my people, and this day shall come as a thief in the night, when men are unaware of it; and my own outstretched arm shall bring it, and the glory, and the honour of it shall redown unto my name, saith the Lord. And this answer hath been often made unto me by the Spirit of the Lord, which hath often refreshed my soul, and caused my heart to be glad & rejoice, even with joy unspeakable, and hath filled my mouth with his heavenly praises: And therefore, you wellbeloved of the Lord, and you chosen of the mighty God of Jacob, rejoice in the Lord with me, for the father's love is very great, and daily extends itself to you, and to all that truly wait upon his name: How hath he filled our cups, & made them to overflow? How hath he made, even that which was barren, to bring forth fruits abundantly, to his own glory, and to the rejoicing of our souls, and to the exalting of his own name, whose name must be lifted up, and exalted above every name in the world, and at his name must every knee be made to bow, and every tongue to confess; for he is the King of Kings, and the Supreme of Supreams, and the Metropolitan of Metropolitans, and he must rule over all in his Supreamcy, and in his Kingly Majesty, and all the Nations in the world must be bowed before him, and all the proud and lofty must be subdued under his feet.  
And therefore I dearly exhort all friends unto whom this may come, as the exhortation of one of the least of all your Brethren, that you all be stayed upon the living God, with your hearts and minds and affections always exercised upon him, that you may all stand  in this day of God's trial, wherein he will try all flesh as with fire, and his seed, as Gold is tried in the furnace, and as Silver is tried in the Refiners fire; So will the Lord try his seed, that when it comes forth, it may be purer than Gold seven times tried.  
And dearly beloved Friends in the Lord, though we have not been unacquainted with trials, tribulations and afflictions, ever since the day that the Lord redeemed us out of spiritual Egypt, oh! because of this let none of you get into a false ease, or into a wrong security, and so think that the storms are over, and now thou mayest do what thou wilt, and walk whither thou wouldst; Oh dear Friends! take heed of this carelessness, or of this false ease, lest the storm take thee when thou art not ready for it; for in the fear of the Lord I do declare that the storm is not yet over, there is yet a sharper storm than hath been yet, which must try the weighty seed, that the chaff and all the dross may be all purged forth, for there is yet a fire to be passed through, before Zion be redeemed, the which redemption must be through great judgement, and the Lord is hastening it, for it cometh suddenly.  
And this hath the Lord often constrained me to declare among his people, which is a faithful testimony for his name: And therefore all dear Friends, dwell in the savoury life of God, and feel his power to carry you on in all your trials, and know the workings thereof in all your hearts, to be as a Sword, a Fire, and a Hammer, to cut down, burn up, and hammer down all that is contrary to the pure will and mind of God in you, and that will stand for ever, and will be a more sure Prophet unto you than all Prophets or prophecies without, though though they are serviceable in their places, but we have a more sure word of prophecy, unto the which you all do well to take heed, as unto a light which shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the daystar arise in your hearts, which will give unto you the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ, the which knowledge is life eternal unto all that come to know him aright: And so all dear Friends whom the Lord hath called and chosen, and begotten and brought forth in the life immortal, know him who is invisible, and let you strength stand in him, and your confidence be in his name, for his name is a strong ●ower, and the righteous do fly to it, and there they are safe from all the wrath and malice of all the Kings and Potentates in the world, etc.  
And so all dear Friends meet often together in the name of the Lord, for in that did the Lord manifest himself unto us at the first, and in that doth the Lord manifest himself unto us now, even in our meeting together in his name, and if any declare any other Doctrine, or any other Gospel than hath already been preached and declared unto you, let them be accursed, whatsoever form or pretence they come under.  
And this is my living Testimony for the Lord. J. G.   

Oh you that are young and tender in years, Remember the Lord your Creator now in the days of your youth, and turn from the vanities of this world, and take no delight in them, for they must all perish and come to nought, with all the treasures and delectable things therein; and therefore this is my counsel and advice unto all that are young and tender in years, who have any true desires to know peace with God, to return out of all the vanities, pleasures, joys, and delights in the world, and rather choose to enter into the house of mourning, than into the house of laughter; for this I know, that thou mayest find more peace, joy, and consolation in thy soul in the house of mourning, than in the house of laughter, for sorrow is better than laughter, and by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better, Eccles. 2.3. And this I can truly say, that true sorrow brings true joy, but as for laughter I count it madness, and for mirth, what doth it? Eccles. 2.2. And therefore thou that art young and tender in years, who truly breathes after the Lord, let it be thy whole delight to seek after him, with all thy soul, with all thy heart and strength, for he will be found of them that seek after him; but if thou forget the Lord now when thou art young, and seek not after him, the time will come, wherein thou wilt be forced to say, O that I had remembered the Lord when I was young, and sought after him with all my strength! Oh that I had forsaken my father and mother, sisters and brothers, and turned unto the Lord! Thus wilt thou be forced to cry who forgets the Lord now when thou art young, yea, when it will be too late for thee to repent; though some may object and say, May I not return unto the Lord and not forsake my near relations which are so dear unto me? Answer, If thou be worthy of Christ thou must be willing to forsake thy father and mother, and whatsoever is dear and near unto thee, if thou be worthy of Christ, for it is said, a man must forsake his father and mother, and cleave unto his wife. But it is said, a man must forsake his father and mother, sisters and brothers, wife and children, lands and live, and whatsoever is dear or near unto him, and cleave unto Christ, if he be worthy of him, yea, and his very life if it be required of him, for he that seeks to save his life shall lose it, but he that loses his life for Christ's sake shall save it, etc.  
But some may Object and say, I am young, and if I forsake my father and mother, or near relations, I know not what would become of me, for I should be undone, they would deprive me of my inheritance or portion, and I might ruin myself for the sake of Christ. Answer, They who forsake father and mother, sisters and brothers, wife and children, lands or live for Christ's sake, shall never lose their reward; for all the rewards and inheritances, thrones and crowns in this world, must return unto the dust from whence they came, but if thou have assurance of that inheritance and portion which endures for ever, this will make thy soul rejoice, and thy heart more glad than all the inheritances or thrones and crowns in this world, if thou couldst obtain them all; and if all thy relations according to the flesh should cast thee out and deny thee, if it be for Christ's sake thou wilt never be forsaken; I have been young, but now am old, (said David) and I never saw the righteous forsaken, nor its seed beg its bread: For they who first seek the Kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof, the Lord will add all other things unto them; and so let none say I am young, and I have time enough yet, I may spend many years in the joys and delights of this world, and then when I wax old I will seek the Lord: Oh how dost thou know how soon the Lord may smite thee with sickness, and call thee to an account? or what knowest thou when thou goest to bed, whether ever thou may●st rise with thy life again, or no? and therefore let none say, I have a Farm to take, or Oxen to try, or a wife to marry, or a husband, and when this is done than I will return to the Lord; oh say not so in thine heart, but now while thou hast time, and while the day is light, and while the Lord calls, seek him, and while he is to be found, for the night is coming, wherein no man can work, and it hastens on apace.  
By One who desires the eternal happiness of all that desires to serve the Lord. J. G. Written in London the 7th day of the 8th Month, 1663.