The Word of the Lord to the Inhabitants of LEEDS.  
OH Inhabitants of Leeds and the adjacent places belonging,  
I am burdened in spirit till I writ unto you, and you Rulers and Priests thereof especially shall know in the day of the Lords account, that I set not my hand to Paper till I was commanded of the Lord, the fire of whose jealousy is kindled, though you are not yet come to the feeling of it, to burn and consume the house of Esau which is as stubble, that his Servant Jacob, (whom Esau for a time Lords over) may have the Inheriance in the purchased possession where none can make afraid, and to give his Israel rest and deliverance from under hardhearted Pharaoh, in bringing him even all the Seed which is but one, into the Land of uprightness which flows with milk and honey, that their souls may be refreshed in the green pastures of love, and every one have rest under their own vine, and rejoice in the paths of holiness for evermore.  
And this is his work notwithwanding the hardness of your hearts, which in tears I express unto you, and the Lord rebuke that spirit which cannot believe in the spirit of Truth, which gives every particular who are obedient to feel after God's Righteousness and worship in Spirit and Truth, in the true separation from the carnal, without which Friends you feel and enjoy, all Profession is but sandy, and building thereon; the time is hasting on a pace, that the overflowing Scourge must pass, and surely all that's not built upon the Rock Christ Jesus will be thrown down; Therefore in plainness and in God's Love I exhort you to consider your standing, and try what spirit you are of, and to what root you are grafted in, for such as the tree such is the fruit, if the Root be holy the branches are holy; And the visitation of God's Love is yet to you that you may come to the feeling after him, that not any of you who as yet are in Ignorance may perish for want of the true Knowledge, But to you that yet sit in darkness and under the Region of the shadow of death light may spring up, according to the promise, to work this effect, as 'tis witnessed by all the Children of God, 2 Cor. 14. God who commanded light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts, to give us the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; And this is that (the Light) which you must come as to a chief Cornerstone, which as yet is rejected by you who are of the World, as is manifest by your practice, and the day is come wherein the Lord abhors profession without the life and power of godliness, and his Sword of the Spirit is drawn to cut down that which cumbers the ground, the briers and the Thorns, which tears the fleece of the sheep; and scarce would suffer them to live upon the earth.  
O People and unwise, do you not know that the Lord hath a controversy with you for these things, and you that are in the Iniquity shall not escape punishnent, though you join hand in hand, and make many covers from the Scriptures, and plead for the Traditions and Customs of the Fathers, who lived in Ignorance as well as you, and through the profession of a Law and the Scriptures which was read every Sabbath day, crucified the just and did dispightfully unto the Spirit of Grace, for this I speak in the Truth, that your life is not according to the Scriptures nor the power of godliness; So wait, be patiented and consider your error, for in this it is partly demonstrated by your particular acting towards me who am a witness against your deeds. For thus it was to me, early in the morning upon the fourth day of the first month, the Word of the Lord came unto me, (mine eyes spiritually being on the Inhabitants of this place) Go speak unto them, You are a People fitted for destruction, because you believe not in that which mortifies the flesh, the Spirit of Truth is that which mortifies the flesh, and who believes not in this, and waits not in this, destruction is of themselves; and the Steeplehouse sacrifice or service which is external, as the Priests manifests doth not work any thing unto this, the Redemption of the Soul; And when I came into the Steeplehouse he who is called a Pastor or a Minister was expounding (as 'tis called) and after he had done, these words beforementioned came on me to speak, and before I had them all uttered, they manifested themselves not to be a Church but a Synagogue, according as 'tis Recorded in John 16. These things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended, The time shall come when they shall cast you out of the Synagogue, so they did, & not only so, but cast me into prison; And thou who is called the Pastor was speaking to the people that though some did censure you, yet you were to be so charitable as not to be violent to them, as even to squeeze blood out of them, or the like, and then immediately the little effect of thy words was seen, for as soon as I had got the words of Truth spoken, away with me to prison; and where is your charity in this, and what is this but violence, and even to squeeze blood out of one, for what know you but by such deal a tender body might be destroyed, as several of the Innocent witnesses of God hath been, for the Testimony to Truth bearing, in the Prisons of England. And also John Sails thou gave forth this Doctrine to the people, to feed upon, viz. That the Ministers work is only to meddle with the external things, as the Sacraments and the like, and to leave the work of the Spirit to Christ. O thou dark Antichristian Minister, which never was made a Minister by God, according to the Testimony wherein all the Ministers of Christ are, Acts 26.16. I have appeared unto thee for this purpose to make thee a Minister and a witness of the things which thou hast seen, and of the things which shall appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darknnsse to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an Inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me; and John 19.19. As thou hast sent me into the World, even so have I also sent them into the World; Mind this Pastor and People, Christ Jesus was not sent carnally to meddle with external things, touching the Redemption of souls, but he was in God Reconciling the world unto himself, preaching deliverance unto those who was in captivity, and bringing the prisoner out of prison, the seed from under the bondage and power of Satan, and saith he, as thou hast sent me into the world, so have I also sent them into the world, and he prayed that they all might be one as the Father was one in him and he in him, that they all may be one in us, that the world might believe that thou hast sent me; mark, here is one cause of the unity, that the World might be convinced and believe the Father sent him, and in the same message is his Ministers; But who can be convinced and believe by such dark Pastors as thou art, and you Teachers of the World generally are, who do not witness the unity with Christ and to be sent by him only, to witness the work in the eternal, and not in the external which is temporal? And so you are manifest here by this Doctrine, that you are of the earth and first man in old Adam's Transgression; and so keeps people in the earth, in the letter and the corrupt, and this brings not people out of the darkness into the light to sit together with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places, into the unity of the faith to be refreshed together in God's Spiritual Worship, nor your Ministry brings not out of prison but keeps in prison, contrary to Christ's, to which end the gifts was given by him who ascended up on high, Eph. 4. and gave some Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till all come to the unity of the Faith, which gives the victory over the World, so over sin, contrary to your dark Ministry; and to this end was the gifts given to be Pastors and Teachers, to perfect the Saints, which now all your carnal Sacraments and Rudiments cannot bring this to pass, viz. perfection in the Saint's degree; Then come and let us reason with you, To what purpose is all your Ringing of Bells, dead prayers, dead Sermons, Bread and Wine, singing of David's experiences, Baptising with a little cold water, being all external things, which cannot bring to perfect the Saints. I say in the fear of the Lord consider, what is all these to purpose, and wherein doth God require these things at your hands, seeing you have excluded or separated yourselves from Christ's unity, and so your gifts are bought and sold with money, and may you not well be called the Merchants of Babylon? Therefore O Royal Seed where ever thou art, turn away from these, who through covetousness make merchandise of souls, and are evidently separate by their life and Doctrine from the unity of Christ, and so from his Ministry, for I show thee that first the power of the light of Christ working mightily in them, delivers them from a people that sits in darkness and evil; And then in the time of his love gives the command to them as Ministers, as he did to Paul in the spirit, when he delivered him from the persecuting state and dark condition, he sent him to this end, to open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, etc. which now you Pastors and Ministers so called of Leeds, I charge you to give an account of this Testimony, viz. your deliverance from the evil, the pride, the covetousness, the envy, the drunkenness, the lasciviousness, the feasting of the Rich, and neglecting the poor, the envy and the wrath that is in the hearts of people, with all the works of the flesh, and that you are Redeemed from these, and sent by God in the spirit to them to speak the mind of Christ, without coveting any man's gold or silver, or else be silent for shame, and come under the judgement, and first pluck the beam out of your own eye, and then you may see the evil that is in others, which bondages their souls, and so be profitable to them and not hurtful, till which be witnessed you cannot fly from the judgement, but are the blind guides, and none but the blind are led by you; So I beseech you in the spirit of love be warned, and let the light in your own particulars search you, Rend your hearts, and strip you of every false covering; This is a false covering, for you to be named Ministers of Christ, and your work only external, This is a false covering for you to be called Presbyterians, to lay on hands for the work of the Ministry, and call Elders, when you never came yet to the babes estate, to desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby to become Elders in the Truth, whilst you have been taking the letter for the Word, the Baptising with outward water for the Baptism of Christ, to give the name Christian, the Bread and Wine carnal for the Supper of Christ, and the Light of Christ which is able to save to the utmost all that come to God by him, the light, to be that of a natural conscience, for the Scripture Records these to be in the power of the Spirit; Therefore search the Scriptures and see whether these things be so, and you finding them thus, be ashamed of your forms, and come to Christ the Light who is the life of men, kiss him that judgeth, who is the Son of Righteousness, lest his wrath kindle speedily against you, and you be consumed from not being a people because of disobedience.  
And thou Martin Hyles who made this Prison much-what to put the witnesses of God in which testify against deceit; Remember Hamans' policy, wrath and envy against the upright-hearted Jew, and what did that avail him in the end, or was not he worse for that and not better? Take heed, in the dread of God I warn thee to Repentance of thy past actions against the upright-hearted who worship God in Spirit and Truth, the Righteous Seed, and let thy rashness be turned into moderation, and thy spirit of fury into love and meekness. And if thou be a Magistrate, be glad to defend the Innocent, and let true Justice pass upon the workers of iniquity, for that's the Magistrate's place, and this Greeting is to thee Martin Hyles from thy prisonhouse, And to you all Rulers and Priests in and about this Leeds, who live in the flesh, and worship not God in Spirit and Truth, lay aside all superfluity of naughtiness, and let the time passed be sufficient for you to have persecuted the Innocent, and cause the People of God by Creation to err, who as yet sit in darkness, by your lies and lightness, pride and vanity, many are yet under your and kept in the Land of darkness, as sheep scattered in the dark and cloudy day, And yourselves with the lust of your own hearts keep the witness under Death's Dominion in the particular, And so may not the dispersed of Israel say what good can be expected from such Teachers and Leaders who themselves are in bondage to Satan the Prince of darkness; may not a Lamentation be taken up in the true Prophecy concerning this people, They build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity, the heads thereof judge for reward, and the Priests thereof teach for hire, the Prophets thereof Divine for money, yet will they lean upon the Lord and say, is not the Lord among us, none evil can come upon us, is not this your building, is not this your practice? O Leeds, England and New-England, therefore cease from this wherein ye provoke the Lord to wrath, and let your right eye be put out as concerning this, and your hand whither and become dead as touching this, for what will it avail you to strive against the stream; For the Lord to his People is become a place of Broad Rivers and stream of water, and if ever you come to Redemption you must be ploughed as a field, and separated with the Word of God from your bloodthirstiness, pride, arrogancy and deceit, the workers of which cannot enter into the Kingdom of God: Therefore come to the feeling of the Just which tells you envy is of the Devil, pride and swelling words of vanity and the lust of the eye is of the World, and not of the Father, and if any man love the World, the love of the Father is not in him, take counsel at the Spirit of God and weigh the thing, for this which expresseth unto thee in the love of the Father would not have your souls to perish; So if you love your souls be obedient, and let not the enemy betray you through his wisdom in keeping you from the sense of the new Creature, and in that old Adam's state imagines there can be no due order as to Government and Worship (in the generation chosen out from you) but the living wisdom is made manifest in the separation from the World's Idolatry, in which state our Officers shall be peace and our Exactors Righteousness, our Judges restored as at the first, and our Counsellors as at the beginning: So the living order of God's Spirit is not run from but witnessed, And the Creature waits for the earnest expectation of the Son of God, to be freed from the bondage of iniquity, and he is the Son of God, the Light of the World, whom all the Kingdoms of the earth must become his, the Lord Jesus Christ who is of power, authority and wisdom to Rule over all with a Rod of iron, and this is that I would bring you up into, out of the carnal and deceit, wherein is the strife, that in the obedience to the Just you may come into the enjoyment of God's Righteousness; And if you here contenin or speak against this Government, the true sword of the Spirit may be turned against you; so try your ways and come out of the pit of destruction, that the life of Innocency you may feel, to partake of the Lamb's mercy.  
And you friends who are of the Seed, convinced with the Just in your own particulars, and in stillness, the light in your hearts discovers unto you the enmity of the unjust, and lets you see the evil of the World, the wickedness of the times, so that whilst ye are mingled with the heathen which worship not God in spirit and Truth, you are wrong, and the wrong is unrighteous which cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; Therefore O friends, join with the Righteous principle that discovers unto you the wrong, the unrighteous, and herein is the weight and the burden felt which must be cast off, that lets for running the race of holiness, and the command is grievous to the disobedient but rejoicing to the Just, he is near, the light, to give thee strength to come through the power of darkness in your own particulars, than the powers of darkness without you will be as ashes under the feet of the pure, and the living faith through your steadfast love to the Truth will increase to purfie the heart and cleanse your souls with the precious blood of the Lamb slain since the foundation of the World, and this friends the salvation of your souls is more precious than all the things of the earth; So in the love of God which would draw you unto him, and give you a mansion in his house, be faithful and valiant, and look not at the enemy's advantages, which would draw from the least simplicity of the Gospel to uphold his kingdom which must be thrown down, and the pure Authority established, so fly not that which is to bring near into God's love, the Cross, the obedience unto God's witness, who waits to lead thee up to the Land of the living, hear his voice, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, and look not at names or Reproaches, but count them Riches, and all names whatsoever the persons being not in the nature of Christ, there is rottenness in the bones, and not a sweet savour unto God, which except Christ the life be witnessed in the mortal body, the soul is under Death's dominion; So come forth & partake with the sufferings that thou mayest Reign with him in the glorious state, Christ jesus the Prince of peace, whose banner of love is stretched forth to Redeem the captives of judah, and restore the preserved of Israel, Glory, honour and everlasting praises be given unto him by all the seed in whom sin Reigns not in their mortal bodies, who are the saints of the most high God.  
Samuel Watson.   
THE END.  

LONDON: Printed for Thomas Simmons at the Sign of the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate, 1660.