TWO EPISTLES OF JAMES NAYLOR's.  

An Epistle to several Friends about Wakefield.  
JAMES a Prisoner of Jesus Christ, unto all that love the Appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ every where, Grace and Peace be multiplied from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ; My dear Hearts, you whom the Lord hath manifested so much Love unto, as to call you out of Sin and Death, and the World, all the Delights and Pleasures of the World, which Fades away, up to himself, where is Joy unspeakable, Pleasures and Riches that endure for Evermore. Dear Friends, Watch and be Sober, that you may hear the voice of your Beloved when he calleth, and let not the precious proffers of the Love of God be tendered in vain; while you have an Ear open to the World, you cannot hear the Voice of God, so that you have been made to groan under it: How long have you been deceived by it, all your time promising Peace, Fullness, and Satisfaction; but have been brought to cry out of Oppression and Deceit, and your Cries are come before the Lord of Sabbaths, who is your Rest, and he is now appeared to Deliver you, and set you free from Bondage, that you may serve him alone. And now take heed of consulting with your Old Master; hath the Lord been so Merciful unto you, as that he hath set your Faces out of Sodom and Egypt, towards the promised Land, Oh take heed of looking back, lest you be taken Captive, and led back again, and so you come short of Redemption, and your Faith fail you, and so you come short of the Promise, for Unbelief cannot enter into the Rest; but you, Dear Friends, put on Resolution, put on Strength, be Valiant for your Freedom, cast off every Weight, follow your Captain the Lord Jesus Christ, who for the joy set before him, endured the Cross, despised the Shame, and so entered into Rest and Glory. Take heed of halting between God and the World; what agreement can there be, or what Peace, while you are Married to the World? Your thoughts turn in thither, and your are Adulterated from God, who gives you all good things, as so many tokens of his Love; hereby is the broken Language brought forth, and you cannot speak the pure Language of the Land of Rest. And while you give way to that in you, which leads you to look back to what is behind you; you keep yourselves in the Wilderness and Darkness, and lose your way, and know not where you are; Grieving the Holy Spirit of the Lord which hath appeared unto you, to Guide you: But (Oh Friends!) mind your Guide, and follow him; Arise, Shine, your Light is come, and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon you, the Night is far spent, the Day is at hand, even the Day of Sion's Deliverance; Arise, come away all you that love her, come off from the World and Worldly things, come into the Life, lie no longer in Death and Dead things. Awake thou that Sleepest, and stand up from the Dead, that Christ may give thee Light: Come forth, come forth of all Created things, witness your Redemption from the World, that you are Redeemed from the Earth up to God, out of all Kindred's, Tongues, People and Nations, to Reign as Kings and Priests for Ever, above the World, Sin, and Death; Triumphing and Treading upon all that would take you Captive. This is the Day of your Deliverance, own it with the Loss of all Fading Pleasures, make it appear to all the World, this is the Day you waited for, even the Day of your Joy, but of the World's Sorrow: A Day of Blackness and Gloominess, a Day of Fear and Trouble to them that Oppress you; a Day wherein the Kingdom of Jesus Christ shall be Exalted, and all the Kingdoms and Powers of the Earth Shaken; a Day wherein the Lord will Avenge the Power of him that is too strong for you: Rejoice, Rejoice ye Meek of the Earth, Shout for Joy ye poor Despised ones, whom your Brethren have trodden upon, and have cast you out, and you have been made their Mocking-stock for the Truth's sake, Sing and Rejoice, the Voice of a King is amongst you, and he will Marry you to himself in Righteousness, Purity and Holiness, and will Rejoice over you, as a Bridegroom over the Bride, and you shall be for a Crown of Glory in the hand of the Lord, and a Royal Diadem in the hand of your God. O my dear Hearts, my desire to God for you all, is, that you might come to see what unspeakable Riches is laid up for you in Jesus Christ, which is hid from all Flesh, neither can they see it who live after the Flesh; and while they continue their Love to the World and Worldly things, they keep out the Manifestation of the Father's Love, for their Hearts cannot receive both: Now show yourselves Wise Men, choose that which is Eternal, here is Light and Life tendered you in Jesus Christ, freely out of the Father's Love, freely receive Life and Love, and show forth Life and Love to God again, by giving up to him all you have, and all you are for Christ's sake, that so you may come to receive all again with Christ, who is the fullness of the Father's Love, and in him are all good things needful for this Life, and that which is to come, even the earnest of your Inheritance, which none can take from you; which being received, you shall never hunger more, having a Wellspring within, even the Witness of Eternal Life and Love; and as Christ Appears, who is our Life and Love, so shall Life and Love Appear, Spring, Blossom, and bring forth Fruit towards God and Man; that so being raised with him from Death and Dead Works, you may henceforth Live unto God, and being brought into Oneness with him, and Purity, and Holiness, you may be one amongst yourselves, of one Heart and one Mind, speaking one and the self same thing, and having the same care one for another, as for yourselves. And take heed that there be not in any of you, a Principle of Self-love, which will lead to Separation and Division, casting a stumbling block in the way of the Simple; and so they that are Weak may be Defiled and turned back into the World. And I beseech you Brethren, that you mark them that once set their Faces towards Zion, but not being willing to deny the World, and take up the Cross, have consulted with Flesh and Blood, and turned back into Egypt again; of such take heed, knowing that the same Spirit that hath wrought in them Deceitfully, will not cease to work by them to Deceive others to maintain its own Kingdom; but you standing fast in the pure Light of Christ, shall see whither those Return, and the cause of their Returning, and that the end of such is worse than the beginning; but there will be such, that they who are approved may be made manifest. But you my Brethren, be ye so far from following such, that their falling away, may cause you to watch and search by what Power you stand, and so a pure fear may be preserved in you, by which you may be kept in the way that leads to the Crown which is Immortal: For it is he that overcomes that must wear the Crown, wherefore faint not, nor think any thing hard the Lord calls you unto, nothing must Suffer but that which is to Die, that your Souls may Live: Oh your light Affliction worketh for you a far more exceeding weight of Glory, while you keep your Eye to that which is Invisible! wherefore give up yourselves to his will in all things: Stand in the will of God in your present Condition, you are my joy in the Lord; let my bowels be refreshed to hear of your Steadfastness and Growth in the Truth: Take heed of propounding ends to yourselves in any thing, for that leads out of the way of God, and gives way to your own Wisdom; and so you seek to preserve that Alive which is appointed for Death, and so you maintain War against God, and know it not; and in this condition you can have no Peace, while the Enemies are in Arms against your Peace. Oh! dear Friends, you are in my Heart, my Prayer to God for you is, that you may be kept blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed for Ever. My fellow Prisoner, and dear Companion in the Lord Salutes you 
F. H.  all: Cease not to Pray for us, that we may be kept to his Praise, who hath counted us worthy to Suffer for his Name, we are well and in great Peace, kept in our Father's Love above all; we are often brought to stand and wonder how we are kept in the midst of the Fire, and not Consumed; and the more that the Enemy Rages, the more are we kept in Peace within: Here are strange Devices used to ensnare us, to get aught against us (true or false) but all is ordered by a power the World knows not, God is our Strength; Rejoice with us all, dear Friends, and Praise his Name for Evermore, for he is worthy, for his Mercy endures for Ever.  
JAMES NAYLOR. A Prisoner at Appleby in Westmoreland for the Truth's sake, 1653.   

To all Dear BRETHREN and FRIENDS in Holderness, and in the East Parts of Yorkshire.  
DEAR Friends,  
I Rejoice in you, as you are entered into the Love of the Truth, and have owned the Voice that calls out of the Darkness that is over all the Earth, to set your Faces towards Zion the City of Everlasting Light: And now mind your Way, and the Light that is given to Guide you in the Way, to keep your Eye to the Light, that it may lead you through all the Visible things of the World, and as you pass through you may stand single in the Mind unto God, not turning to the right or left Hand, where lies the Temptation, nor looking back, which lays you open to be Assaulted afresh by those Evils you had once escaped from; but keeping the Eye towards the Mark, pass on, leaving and forgetting what is behind, and Treading and Trampling under your Feet, what the Enemy shall lay as stumbling blocks in your way, which your Carnal Eyes, or Ears, or Hearts would be closing with, for the Temptation lies in the Carnal things, and there is the Bondage of the Creature to things that are Corrupt, from which Bondage, from Sin and Corruption, the Lord is now Appeared, that in the Light he may Redeem and lead out of it, all that will own and follow him; and this Light and Redemption is in his Son, whom he is about to Exalt, in which Exaltation a strange and mighty Work is to be brought to pass, whereat all that stand not in his Counsel and Fear, and to whom he shall not Reveal his Secrets, shall be offended, for all that is exalted shall be laid low and debased, the Wisdom of the Wise shall come to nought, and the Understanding of the Prudent ones shall be hid, Riches and Honours shall fall to Dust, from whence they came, and the Worship of the World shall become Filthiness, the Gods of the Heathens shall be Famished with looking for Worship, but shall get none, and the strongest of them shall not be able to deliver himself; for the Lord will bring down all Heights and Mountains into the Valleys, for in the Valley of Jehosaphat he will plead with all Flesh, which hath scattered the Seed of the Covenant: And now dear Friends, here is your Peace and Blessedness, that you Silence all Flesh, and cease from your own Wisdom, and give over your Imaginations about the things of God; come out of the Love of the World, and arise out of all Visible things, and prepare to meet the Lord; cast off all your Idols that have had your Hearts, and put off the stumbling blocks of your Iniquities from before your Faces, and give up all that will not that he should Reign over them, that his Enemies may be your Enemies, for in Judgement and Righteousness is he come out, to be Avenged upon the Unrighteous Seed, and now stand in the Light, that a separation may be made in you, the Precious from the Vile, that a true savour may arise, that you may know your Calling and Election, what is called, and what you are to come out of, left you stay in any of that to which the Plagues is, for this is the cause of your Suffering, not discerning in the pure Wisdom, what that Antichrist or exalted Spirit is, that is got into the Seat of God, and shows himself to be as God, whose Kingdom stands in the Wisdom, Glory and Riches of the World, whereat all that knows not the true God in Spirit ask Counsel; therefore, dear Friends, look not out into the Visible things, for there he is ready to present to you false Voices, and Visions, Lying-wonders, to lead out the vain Mind into the Liberty and Boasting of high things, in Words without Power; but while such speak of Liberty, they are in Bondage, in Mind, to Corrupt and Fading things, and while these are Head in the Creature, there is not Redemption: For the Bonds of Iniquity are unloosed, and the pure seed is oppressed, and the Plagues must pass upon that Nature, therefore sink down into the Sufferings and Death, that you may find the Door whereat to Enter, for there is a Vale of Tears to pass thorough, you shall find your Well-springs in him, where you shall drink of the Water of Life, and find Refreshment, and grow from Strength to Strength, till you come up to Zion: Stand fast, take heed of Words without Life, spoken from the Comprehensions; for that Feeds not the pure Seed, but Feeds the Wisdom which is above, and the Itching Ears, and so the pure is covered with Earth, and the Fowls of the Air is fed, and no Fruit is brought forth to Perfection, and take heed of that Nature that would know more than God is willing to Reveal; for you shall find that unwilling to obey what it knows, and take heed of that which desires to appear before Men to be commended, for that seldom deserves Praise of God; and let a Godly Conversation declare what is within, and know one another in Spirit, and not in Word, and meet often together, and wait upon God (for his Teaching alone) in a Cross to your own Wills, for therein is the Secrets of God Revealed: Let Love abound in you one towards another, without being Partial; and I beseech you by the Love of God, that you halt not between God and the World; but as you Profess that you are not of the World, so let your Conversation be out of its Fashions, Customs, and Traditions, and Covetous Practiles, that it may appear you are marked out for the Lord's, and that you are not ashamed to own that which differs, and so walk, as not to cast an offence on the Gospel, that you become not a scorn to Fools, but let Wisdom be justified of her Children, and take heed of that which would be exalted above others, Teaching and Talking of things without Life; and you that would be counted somebody, let such first learn to wash the Feet of them they would be above, and he that would be Greatest, let him be Servant to all, for it is the Humble, and not the High Spirits that are Taught of God, and such so walk, as their Lives and Practices Teach and Judge, all Vain, Light, and Heighty Spirits; and mind how you grow out of the Earth, and out of that which is in the Enmity; and until you be brought out of the Love of all Visible things, and wholly enfolded into the Love of God, you cannot witness Redemption, nor receive the true Joy that ariseth in the Manifestation of the Love, for it is only he that is brought up out of the Death to Reign over it, whose Heart is come out of the Unrighteous Mammon, who is entered into the Kingdom of Righteousness, Joy and Peace; and as you arise out of the Earthly Bondage, you shall witness the glorious Liberty, and so come to know your own Measures, every one in particular to improve it, and not to boast above it in another Man's Line; and so you will come to see by what Power you stand in your Warfare, how far you are Conquerors, and who is your Enemy at present, and so be able to give an Account in yourselves of your Faith, and how you grow from Faith to Faith: And dear Friends, watch over one Another, Exhort, Reprove, Admonish in pure Love and Meekness of Spirit, lest you also be Tempted, and all know, that you are set as a City on a Hill, as Signs to this Generation; therefore lift up your Light to all the World, that all Mouths may be Stopped, and Hearts Convinced; so that all that see you, may see you to be Children of Light, and being Judged by you, may be ashamed of their deeds of Darkness, for great is the work of the Lord, and Blessed are they that are found Faithful in it, in what is committed to them. Farewell, dear Hearts, and the Lord God Almighty Bless, Prosper, and Preserve you Pure and Clear unto his Kingdom, Amen. My Love in the Lord Salutes you all, and if my Father please, I shall be glad to see your Faces in the Flesh; but his Will is my Peace, who is Blessed for Evermore.  
Written from Nuby the last Day of the Seventh Month, 1653. A Lover of your Souls, JAMES NAYLOR.  
The Work of the Lord is great in those Parts, and he carries it on with a High Hand, having got himself the Victory. Praise the Lord with us, all that know him, who is worthy, even him alone for Ever.   
FINIS   

Printed in the YEAR, 1654.