A General Epistle TO Friends of Truth and Righteousness in England and Holland, or elsewhere; WITH A Testimony against that Spirit that speaks much of Holiness and Peace, but leads back into the World and its Pollutions, where the Cross of Christ is denied.  By Humphrey Wollrich. 

Written in the 11th. Month, Anno 1665. 
 FRIENDS,  
The pure Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ all wait to feel, live and move in your mortal bodies, that so you may by and in it witness acceptance with the Lord, the Father and fountain from whom every good and pure gift doth proceed and spring. Oh witness him alive in you that was dead, that so ye from him may receive life, as he doth from the Father, that there may be none amongst you all that can be content to sit down in the form without the power, or in having a name to live, but as ye feel that innocent Lamb of God live through Righteousness, that hath been wounded and slain through transgression, out of which my souls desire and prayer to the Lord, is, ye all may be preserved in the holy, pure, and undefiled life of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.   

THe Eternal God, Lord of Heaven and of Earth, put it in my heart to write to all Friends of truth and Righteousness in general, that ye all watch and pray continually both in the day and in the night, with all your loins girded up with the Girdle of Righteousness stand, stand in faith out of all fainting or weariness, thoughts and unbelief, keeping the ward of the house of the Lord. O dear Friends! ye that have known the Virgin's state, unto whom nothing in this World hath been so dear and lovely as the savour of his good Ointment to feel, who have rejoiced in nothing so much as to hear the beloved Bridegroom's voice: Oh, all watch and pray, in that the eternal Spirit is the Father of, that nothing may enter in to defile the Temple of the living God; for he delights to dwell and walk therein: Oh that pure spring of goodness all wait to feel living in your own hearts, that by the same ye may be made willing as the holy Apostle was, to die daily unto all visible and fading things, so that ye may be but found in him, and be eye Witnesses of the life and power of his rising, by which we have the answer of a good Conscience in his sight, and whereby the Kingdom and the Glory, and the greatness thereof is revealed and brought to light that was with the Father before the World began, which fallen man (from God's Image) hath lost by trangression, which the Lord by his holy Spirit is finishing and putting an end unto, and in the place thereof bringing in his Everlasting Righteousness, and where sin and iniquity hath abounded, grace and mercy by Christ doth much more abound, to the glory and renown of his holy Name for evermore.  
Oh dear Friends! hid not the Righteousness of the Lord within your hearts, but love and follow him, that your Lights may shine out in the daily Cross to self, until you come to witness the Baptism into his death, a death to all that can work without the Lord, or hunt before him, as Nimrod did, the beginning of whose Kingdom was Babel; or live (and feed) without the Eternal spring of goodness, in the World in the broad and wide way that leads to destruction; Oh let your Light shine out, and have always oil in yourselves to keep your Lamps burning, this is to the pure praise of him that hath called us to glory and virtue; and all dearly beloved Friends every where, keep out of the World's spirit and cumbrances in the spirit of truth, and then by the living spring in all ye do, will ye be guided, and those things that to you have seemed hard and impossible by the feeling and guidance of the holy spirit will be made easy and pleasant, as it is written, the Lord makes my way perfect, but the way of transgressors is hard; therefore out of thyself live in the Lord, and take hold of his strength, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength, in whom all the seed of Israel are justified, and do glory, to whom eternal glory and praises be given, for he is good, and his mercies endure for ever.  
Oh the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, let none go from that, after fables, and hats, and outward things, as some have done, who have been convinced of the way of Righteousness, but are turned into the World from the holy Commandment, and are become dry, having (little or) nothing left but swelling words of vanity, whose root I am moved of the Lord to judge; for this was not their work whom God raised at first amongst us, but to turn people's minds to the eternal light of the Word that shone in their own hearts, that by it their souls might be saved in the day of the Lord, who hath showed me these men are not of Paul's spirit, but of that which did him much mischief in withstanding his words; for he said he would not do those things while the world stood, whereby the weak should be offended; but these men have said to me some of them, what need we care who is offended, seeing we have freedom to do the thing, these things I do but touch upon, for my Righteousness and my peace which makes me glad is of the Lord, and the other things not worth the mentioning in comparison thereof, but as one seeing the mischief it hath done in City and Country to many simple hearted people, beguiled with a show held forth for the substance; I could not well be silent any longer. And further more this is my Testimony in this thing, as keeping on the Hat in Prayer before the Lord in the Congregation of his people is not lovely, it makes not for peace, neither is it of good report before all, but sprang from that gainsaying root, that Corah, Dathan, and Abiram joined unto, who with a greater outcry of holiness than Moses and Aaron, had rose up against the Lord and his anointed and hidden ones, as these men have done, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert people's minds from the simplicity of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction if they repent not.  
And all dear Children of the Light and of the day whom God hath blessed, and unto which all the promises are made, stand in the strength of the Lord, and feed there out of self and out of all unbelief in the feeling of the holy pure Spirit of the Lord in the goodness which will constrain thee to deny thyself, so in him thou may be but found, say not in thy heart it is impossible to be holy and perfect in this life, that's the Infidel and the spirit which the world's life is in; David sometime said, I shall one day fall by the hand of Saul; and doth his promise fail for evermore, hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious, and will he be favourable no more? but the cause of this he came to see was mistrust; therefore cries he, why art thou disquieted O my soul, and why art thou cast down within me; hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the health of his Countenance; and I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the Living, I say let not these things enter you, but keep down out of them all to the holy root, with whom all things are possible, as saith the holy Apostle: when I am weak then am I strong; and in the weakness is the power manifested; and we can do nothing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of the Lord, and I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me; therefore good is it to live out of self in the true poverty before him, where self is humbled, crucified, and made of no reputation, quiet and still, but as the Lord moves and makes the way plain and perfect, so doth the rest remain and the inner gate of the Lords house open, and the pure spring ishueth out, and the stream thereof makes glad the City of God, and then is the tree of life known and seen, (as John witnessed) whose Leaves are for the healing of the Nations: O blessed Nation, O happy people whose feet stand within thy Gate, O Jerusalem! thou City of the Living God, the Tabernacle which thou hast pitched to dwell in, with the Children of the eternal day. O my Soul bless thou the Lord for ever, in thy Church world without end, who hath caused thy glory to shine out of Zion clear as the Sun, fair as the Morning, and terrible as an Army with banners. Oh thy beautiful Garment, art thou clothing thy Children withal, and with the fruit of this tree of life art thou feeding them withal, so that her Inhabitants may not say, I am sick, the people that dwell therein are forgiven their iniquities, so the eternal day of the Lord our God that hath enlightened the Earth from his holy Habitation be amongst you all, (in) and over you all, Amen, Lord Jesus Christ.   
H. W.  
Let this be sent amongst Friends of Truth every where to be read amongst them, as truth in the inner parts shall move.   

Another Epistle to Friends.  
Dear Friends,  
WHom the Lord have called, from amongst an evil and sinful Generation, of Men and Women whose words, ways and actions pleases not the Lord, but they are a grief unto his good spirit, that he hath given them a measure of, to instruct them, which they have often & yet do rebel against, for the which cause the Lord the righteous God of Heaven and Earth is revealing and making manifest his righteous judgements in the Earth, that them that shall be left may hear and fear the living and true God that made Heaven and Earth, and cease from the fear of Men whose breath is in their nostrils, for strong is the Lord which is now risen to judge the Whore; and to lay waist Zions' Oppressors, for this is the message which I have received from the Lord, to declare and publish and proclaim in thy ears oh thou true Israel, that hast waited for the Lord the Bridegroom of thy Soul even as for the Morning, and desireth nothing so much as to be joined, wedded and married unto Christ the Soul's rest, and that thou uprightly walkest, and patiently waitest upon God for power to do his will, oh you dear Children that labours to exercise a good conscience towards God and Men, and have no end to self, nor any carnal interest whatsoever, nor envy unto your Persecutors, nor nothing in your hearts but love and good will unto all Men upon the Earth, that desire nothing that is theirs, but are made willing to offer up freely unto the Lord all that you possess in this World, that so you may glorify God with your Souls and Bodies, so that you feel such a right spirit in you that you dare not offer a sacrifice unto to the Lord at another Man's cost, but all that you desire of the Men of this World is, but liberty to worship the Lord your God, according as you are persuaded by him, and as he hath and doth reveal and manifest and make known himself by Christ the Light unto you, which is the way to God, I say unto you that thus feels the effectual work of the Lords precious truth in your inward parts, in the name and power of the Lord God be patiented in continuing in well doing, and the Lord will give you the desire of your hearts, for the Lord is risen to comfort his afflicted people, and to consider Zion whom no Man regards, and to deliver his true Israel from under all their Egyptian Taskmasters which oppresses them with their hard Tasks, and refuses to let you worship the Lord your God, in that spirit that you have received of him, which the Lord hath in these latter days, according unto his promise poured forth upon you his sons and daughters, that thus feels and knows your hearts and minds brought back unto God, and redeemed by his power unto him out of sin and iniquity, that once separated you from the Lord; so that the day and hour you now know and witness is come, that Christ spoke of to the Woman of Samaria should come, that the true Worshippers should worship the Father in spirit and truth; which truth you that thus are obedient unto it, you witness Christ's words fulfilled that he declared; that he declared if the truth shall make you free, then are you free indeed, which freedom through mercy, blessed be the Lord, many have obtained in this the day of his power, which you now witness is come that God promised by his Prophets should come; in the which day you are made willing to do the will of God, although it be a cross unto your own wills, and to the wills of them that are enemies unto the appearance of God in you his people in this the day of his power, and labours with all their strength and might, wisdom and policy, to suppress, Banish and exile this way of worshipping of God in spirit, out of the Earth, or from amongst men; that so they might set up their own traditions and carnal Ordinances, and beggarly outside performances, which have not profited them that have been exercised therein. But oh you dear Children of the Lord that are redeemed unto God by his power, and are come beyond carnal Ordinances, & have shaken off them ragged robes of your own Righteousness and outside performances, and are come to feel the power of the endless life, and the virtue of the tree of Life you now feel to nourish your souls up to Eternal life: I say unto you dear Brethren and Sisters, prize this unspeakable love and mercy of the Lord God unto your Souls, and walk humbly before the Lord, and feel his holy dread and pure fear in your hearts, that so you may be preserved, and never more to departed from the Lord; then shall you never more be terrified with the fear of man, whose breath is in his Nostrils, & is but as dust before the God of your lives; so in the Light dwell: and all Friends that make mention of the Lords precious Truth, and that names the Name of Christ keep out of iniquity, and all bow unto the appearance of Christ, in your inward parts, that so you may know him to take his Government in your hearts, that so you may witness your change wrought, and may walk in the Light, and know your passage from death to life; for Friends, this is the one thing most needful for all people upon the face of the Earth: But more especially you that have received the Lords precious Truth, that you all wait upon the Lord with a true purpose of heart, for an entrance more abundantly into the Eternal Inheritance; that so you may come to know that life to be raised that shall never die, that by it your souls may live when this body shall be no more; and all Friends I warn and charge you all in the presence of Almighty God to take heed of negligence and carelessness, and of being indifferent in those things that doth concern your Everlasting peace and Salvation of your Souls, and all strive to lay hold on Eternal Life, and none to take up a rest below or short of the enjoyment of the peace of God which passes the understanding of all them that are out of it, which the Lord God is revealing & making known unto the simple hearted, that more desires the knowledge of his ways then any thing this world can afford: And all Friends labour to keep your minds within, unto God's precious truth, that so you may feel your bodies prepared, and your hearts enlarged to run the ways of God's Commandments, and know the will that sanctifies in soul, body, and spirit, then shall your hearts rejoice in God your Saviour, who is now saving his people, and delivering them from the fears of death, and the bondage of Corruption; So dear Friends mind your way to pass, which is Christ Jesus the Light, and look not out, nor wander, nor gaze abroad, for they that do, will stumble and be taken in the Enemy's snares; and none be discouraged at what hath or may befall the Lords own people in this day, in which the Lord is revealing his Righteous Judgements in the Earth, by the which he is rebukeing the wicked for their rebellion against the Truth, the light of Christ in their Consciences, and for their despiteful using and persecuting his people, which the Lord hath sent in his Name and Power to forewarn them of the evil that is now come upon them, but they have been like the deaf Adder which have altogether refused to hear the voice of the Charmer, charm he never so wisely, but the Lords love is unto his seed, and bodily exercise profits little, but Godliness is the only gain, so that it is certainly so, that when the wrath of the Lord is kindled, yea but a little, blessed are all they that puts their trust in him, for they that put their trust in the Lord, they are saved by his power; so that unto us to live is Christ, and to die is gain; so that the Righteous and the Godly receives gain by their death, but it is not so with them that forgets God and persecutes his People, for their reward will be according unto their work, and therefore for the wicked it shall go ill with them. But I say unto you dear people of the most high God, that are come unto the Righteous Principle of God in your own hearts, it shall go well with you that feel that life raised, that Paul blessed and praised the Lord for in his day, when he said, Oh Death where is thy sting? O Grave where is thy victory▪ the sting of Death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ in the enjoyment of the same life, my soul even praises and magnifies the Lord with all the redeemed whom the Lord has saved and delivered from the fears of death, and brought to know that love that is stronger than death. In the which powerful love and life I dearly salute you all that in truth desires peace with the Lord, unto whose power I commit you with myself.  
Given forth in obedience unto the motion of the Lords Spirit in the universal love of God that I feel in my heart unto all that have received the Lords precious Truth, through which God is reconciling Man unto himself.  
SAMUEL CATUR. The 19th. of 8th. Month, 1665.  
THE END.