A WARNING AND TESTIMONY FROM THE LORD Who Lives and Abides forever, That all that have known the Lord get into the Name of the Lord, therein only to have their Confidence.  
And that all such who have truly known him, who is the great High Priest, wait upon the Lord out of Self, in the true Light that showeth every Thought and Reasoning, for the buddings and bringings forth of the Spiritual Rod of his Strength out of Zion, in his holy Tabernacle and Temple, whose Fruits being brought forth praise him in the midst of the Church World without End.  
By Humphrey Woolrick.  
Printed in the Year 1680.   

A Warning and Testimony from the Lord, who Liveth and Abideth forever, etc.  
FRIENDS;  
WHo is that happy Man or People, that are in such a happy State and Condition to whom the Lord's Power is a Hedge and Walls of Salvation, as it was to the Just and Upright Man Job, who put on Righteousness, as a Garment, and whose Crown was true Judgement, who feared the Lord, and eschewed Evil; Was not his Root by the great Waters? and did not the Dew lie upon his Branch? Did not the Lord give him according to that good man's Blessing, the Fatness of the Earth and the Dew of Heaven? Was not the Secret of God with him, and his Glory fresh in him? who did not set before his Eye any Evil Thing, but put it all away from his Tabernacle (with his holy Eye) which had brought Death, and filled the Temple of God with Darkness: for whilst Solomon saw with that Eye, he drove away the Evil from his House; then he saw it was the Slothful's Vineyard that was overgrown with Weeds; he saw also the Place of Judgement and Transgression was there; the Place of Righteousness and Iniquity was there; read Isaiah 5. to the 8th verse: see what the Lord would do to his Vineyard, I will take away the Hedge thereof (saith he) and it shall be eaten up; and break down the Wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; for the Vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel, and the Men of Judah his Pleasant Plants; from whom (after all his Labour upon them) he looked for Judgement, but behold Oppression; for Righteousness, but behold a Cry; and for this Cause have many great and fair Houses and Buildings been left desolate without Inhabitants, even for want of the Judgement of Truth being executed within their Gates.  
But consider; could the Devil, or them that are Co-workers with him, get over this Hedge, which the Lord made about Job, to touch him or any thing he had, until the Lord gave them leave, that so his Patience and Faith might be tried and proved as Gold is tried in a Furnace of Earth, and he come out more pure, as he himself said on this wise, I know when I am tried I shall come forth as Gold: and his most holy Faith and Patience, which the most holy and living Word was the Author and Finisher of, might be found to the Glory and Praise of God, whose Kingdom and Dominion rules over all, and he himself our First and our Last, before and above all in the Hearts and Souls of his People, might be God, blessed, admired and praised in the midst of that House, whose Walls are Salvation World without end; as Solomon saith, To do Justice and Judgement is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice: Such that neglect it I know may force themselves to Sacrifice, like Saul in the Trangression; but Samuel told him, It was a Foolish Sacrifice; Behold, (saith he) to Obey is better than Sacrifice, and to do his Will and Commandment than the Fat of Rams, or all these, which thou sayest the People have brought to sacrifice to the Lord my God in Gilgal: For, who keep not their own Hearts clean, all they do is unclean as to them; and therefore unto Cain's Offering, nor the Hypocrites long Prayers and Praises, which are out of the living Spirit, out of the clean thing, the Lord hath no regard; and this is one with the Apostle's words, which saith, To the Pure all things are Pure; and why so? because it never leads into any Sin or Impure Thing; all that is an Effect of Man's departing from the Living God, his going out from His holy Will and Counsel, which ever purifies and keeps the Heart clean, and sanctifies throughout.  
But saith the Apostle, To the Impure all things are impure; nay further, Whatever is not of Faith, is Sin; the Prayer and the Ploughing of the Wicked is Sin, because their Hand is not to God's Blow, which should plough up the Fallow and Thorny Ground of their Hearts, that so the Plant and Lily of God might grow, and the Manchild whose Name is the Branch might grow and spring up upon the holy Hill of Zion to Reign before the Ancients gloriously, which is his right and place, the Father who is greater than all hath allotted him, and into whose Hand he must deliver his Kingdom, that he may be seen and known to be all in all, and that all the various Ministrations and diversities of Gifts he hath given to men, be effects of his goodness, for the perfecting of the Saints until we come to this holy fullness, which is all in all in his holy People, who by him for his great Mercy sake, wherewith and wherein he loved us when we were Enemies, hath and doth wash from all Sin; and so in that that is without Spot or Putrefaction comes the Church to be cleansed, and presented to God without Spot or Wrinkle or any such thing, in and through that which is all fair and altogether lovely, and hath no spot in it: and you that know this you know the Golden Altar & the hidden Manna ye eat of, and the holy Incense, in which the Lord smells a sweet Savour; and the holy and pure Hand of the holy and pure Angel, through which it ascends to the holy Lord God, as did the holy Apostle, Offerings which the Unholy and Sinners in Heart have no right unto; and this Altar must be known in the Heart of his Kings and Priests, and they do know that this holy Altar is raised through the true Fear & Awe, and in the Name of the Lord; For they that Fear (as saith the Prophet (which Fear is to departed from Evil) their Heart shall be enlarged, and their Understandings shall be opened; their Ear and their Eye that was shut, and closed up as within a Cloud of Darkness shall be opened, because the Abundance of the Sea shall be converted to them; for they be come to that one, in which God reconciles all things to himself, whether they be things in Heaven or things in Earth; and blessed are they of the Lord God that made Heaven and Earth that read and understand, & wait to witness in a daily Cross to self these things; for they are the Redeemed and the Blessed of the Lord, and their holy Offspring with them: And my Heart is overcome with the Goodness and tender Mercies of the Lord, in which I send this Epistle abroad, but more chief to all you who be found in the Spirit of Opposition, and gainsaying the Order of the Power, and those things which be no other but Effects and Branches thereof, and the good Order which is in the God of Order, and the things which be Lovely, and of a good Report, and which have Praise and Virture in them, and be good before the Lord, and before his Saints, yea, and before all sober People. My Desires to you all, in the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ (even you who be not Violently Wilful, resolving to go on, because you have begun) to refrain yourselves from this evil Work, and turn to the Lord, from whom indeed you have swarved aside, and turned your back, as did the men of Ephraim in Battle, who kept not the Covenant of God, but dealt falsely with that which should have made them strong and wise, and given them counfel how to order the Battle; for the Trumpet always gives an uncertain Sound, where the Covenant of God is not kept.  
I do desire you to come down out of your own Wisdom, Thoughts, and Reasonings out of the House of your Imaginary, wherein ye by searching can never find out God, nor the things of God, as in him and his People they are: Oh! come into a perfect stillness of Mind, and be not as the Horse and Mule without the good Understanding; and humble yourselves under the mighty Hand of God, who would not the Death of any that die in their Sin, but rather they would turn, and that Iniquity might not be their Ruin; and wait upon him in the Singleness of Heart, which cannot be done by you, but as ye take up a Cross daily, which will Humble Self, and make it of no Reputation, as did Christ Jesus, and then will the living Father hear you, and in things you know not he will teach you; and as he shows you that ye have done foolishly, do so no more; your own Souls good is concerned in it: I speak as one that seeks your good, and will not do nor take that Evil Way which some of you have done to me, whose Tongues have devised Evil, like a sharp Razor, speaking deceitfully; for I say, Woe to me, and all that can rejoice to see their Enemy fall, or tread upon him when he is down, that vaunteth himself, and is puffed up at the Sin of others, and mourneth not rather for such that have sinned, that God may give them Repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth, and that doth not in the midst of Judgement remember Mercy; and that rather Lovingkindness from the Lord may  such: And several of you being Aged men, having done and suffered much on the Lord's Account, I would not have you to loaf that full Reward that is in God, or have your good Deeds blotted out before him; for you know, in the Day we Sin, Death will enter, and Darkness will darken the Understanding; and who can see the Lord, when our own Sins hid his face from us? But that you may come to die the Death of the Righteous, and that your Last End may be like unto his, that when you come to receive the Sentence of Death, as did Hezekiah from the Spirit of God in the Prophet, you may then say with him (and not Lie) Lord, thou knowest how I have walked before thee with a Perfect Heart, and have done that which is right in thy Sight: This is my earnest Desire and fervent Prayer to the Lord for you; for my Heart Lamenteth, and a breaking Pity there is in the Bowels of my God towards such that have once tasted how good the Lord is, that they should turn out of the Way of Peace into Bypaths and Crooked-wayes, where the Serpent is Leader and Teacher, who is a Teacher of Lies, of Slandering, false Accusing and Backbiting such as love the Lord and hold their Integrity, as if they were the worst of men, and greatest Apostates; whereby the Way of God, and his Truth, which is a perfect Guide, and a Shield and Buckler comes to be blasphemed by your means, who are glad to take hold of lose men to help you, to run them down whom God will build up; and to despise those things as Idols, which are no other but effects as Branches and Leaves of the good Spirit of God; but alas! will not this Covering be too narrow to hid you? Can you stretch yourselves upon this Bed long, where ye lie at ease above the Witness of God? not regarding the Afflictions of Joseph, nor the Sighing of the Poor, nor the Cry of the Needy! but are become one with that Spirit, which makes it to Cry and Sigh in secret, for your Pride and High-mindedness, who are become Full, Rich and Wise, and say you see, too like those fat and full Cattle, whom the Prophet speaks of, whom the Lord would feed with Judgement, who had indeed drunk of deep Waters, as many of you have done, but now are fouling them with your feet; and have eat of the fat Pastures, but be treading down the Residue thereof with your feet; but Woe be to you that be filled after this Manner, to kick against him that fed you, that have any thing in your Heavens, but the living and true God, or in the Earth that ye have desired, or set up in your Hearts in comparison with him: Ye have played the Prodigals part with your Portion, and be gone out from that living Root and Spring, that first divided to you goodly Talents, that for the Lord, and not for Self, ye should have improved: I say, out of Humility, and that living Fear and Dread of God, that was at first in the Heart, be many gone, who be wise and honourable, but not in the true Wisdom nor Honour, to whom the Apostle spoke in his day; Ye are Honourable, but we are Contemptible and Despised; ye reign as Kings (even above the true King) without us: I would to God ye did reign, that we might reign with you; and to whom Christ spoke when he wept over Jerusalem, where great and mighty Works had been done by him, and in whom great Salvation was wrought for the poor of the Flock, and for the weak and diseased, who saw a true need of a Physician, and saw their Sickness, and Sore, their Bruises and putrified Wounds, which could not be bound up nor healed by another hand than the Lord's, which is not shortened this day; Glory, Glory, Praises and Thanksgiving to him be given in the midst of the Church, for his Mercies which endure forever; who made bare his holy Arm that brought Salvation, and caused his Day of Salvation, in which Abraham rejoiced and was glad, to spring forth in this our Age and Generation, for his Mercies sake that endureth forever, that we might tell to our Children, and they might tell to another Generation what the Lord hath done for the poor of the Flock that waited upon him, who hath the living Words that be Spirit and Life, and give Life to all that believe and receive them, which thing is true in him, as God is true forever; and in them also, who have an Ear open to hear, as David, and all the holy men, the Prophets and Apostles had, to hear him who speaketh in Righteousness, and maketh War in Righteousness against all Unrighteous Spirits of men, by whom the Man of Sorrow, that hath been acquainted with Grief, hath deeply suffered, and doth still suffer in their mortal Bodies, who know and love him, and be filling up the Sufferings of Christ, that are yet behind, for his Body's sake, the Church.  
And this I say, for the Encouragement of all who love Justice and Equity, to see it run down our Streets, to sweep away all that's lose and filthy, and to make clean and white, even as a Flock of Sheep newly come up from the Washing; you that have suffered, or do yet suffer for Righteousness sake by Unruly and Unreasonable men, who hold not the Head, nor the Mystery of his Faith in a pure Conscience; be ye not afraid of their Revile which comes on you, by such as are turning back again into Egypt in their Hearts, and making themselves By and Crooked Paths, and a wider Way to dwell in, than that which the pure God owneth, or giveth or walks with his People in, to their great Joy and his own Glory; who be the men that have Eyes and see not, as God sees (who hath not Eyes of Flesh, nor sees not as Man sees) that cause the Just and Innocent to suffer by their Slanderous and Reproachful Tongues, who are not afraid to speak Evil of Dignities, and Dishonour them, (as Christ said to the Jews, whom his Heavenly Father did Honour:) I say, as any one's Sufferings abound by these men, who are against Justice and Equity, and against good Orders, and so against our God of Order, so shall your Consolation abound, and your Comforts be renewed, as the Morning upon the Mountains; so that you will not be weary nor faint in your Minds, whilst the Eye is to the Lord only, neither shall this heavy Work of yours (which be doing Gods Work diligently) become a burden too heavy for you to bear, because of the Hand that helps, and the Everlasting Arm that is underneath all, to sustain and uphold all that love him, and dare not be negligent in the Work of God's House and Vineyard for their Lord and Master's sake, who is calling all out of the Idle state, to be workers together with him therein, and Counsellors with him, who is the First and the Last, the only Potentate, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Everlasting Father, and King of all our Peace, which every one of his true Subjects ought to see diligently kept in his Church, which is his House. But as for the Weeds, Thorns and Briars, which, as David saith, be the Sons of Belial; and which I say be Co-workers with their Prince of Darkness, who in all Ages stands ready as a Red Dragon, filled with Wrath against the Rule and Government of the Man Child, whose Right it is to Rule; and he shall Rule for evermore, when the Wicked, our Enemies shall be brought under; they shall be caught in their own Pit they have digged for the Innocent, and in their own Net which they have privily laid for others, shall they be taken, and they shall be silent in Darkness.  
But if these things grow up amongst us, how will the Ways and Walks be prepared and cast up, in which the Lord delights to dwell and walk with his People? Doth not he walk in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks? And is it not through the Golden Pipes that the holy Oil runs from God, and empties itself into the Souls of all such that love God's Charge, so as to keep it, which is to judge his House, that they may be with him on his Throne, who is the chief Judge, judging with him and with his Spirit of Judgement, which is a free Gift from him, which he hath promised to give to them that sit in Judgement, and walk by the way of his Righteous Judgements, and such as be of Moses' Mind, of Paul's Mind, and of David's Mind, that the Righteous Judge in Israel he hath said, He will never leave them nor forsake them: Harken what a pure Mind was in all these three men for Justice and Judgement; the Substance of their Words I shall hereafter insert for your sakes, who have either lost your Zeal for Justice, or that be climbed up above the Door, the meek Spirit, into God's House to tread his Courts, to offer your vain Oblations, to stop Justice and Judgement from running down as a River, even as Corah and his Company, with their Censers, their Incense and Offerings with an intent to withstand the holy Spirit and holy Offering in the holy Men, Moses and Aaron; this is several of your States and Conditions, as before the Lord, who hath showed it me, and that searches me, and sees my end in writing to be your Salvation, and Deliverance out of your own Net and Pit; and what are such better than Balaam, who had seen the Vision of God, and had his holy Will and Counsel revealed to him, That God was not minded to Curse, but to Bless Israel his People altogether; and yet after this he would fain have Cursed them for a Self-end, even for the Rewards sake of Unrighteousness, which Balack King of Moab, and Confederate with Ameleck, another Unrighteous People had promised to give him, and to promote him to very great Honour, if he would come and Curse but the uttermost parts of Israel.  
So Balaam went into the Error (as Peter saith of him) when he went to ask Counsel of God for a Wicked End, whom the Lord answered according to the Idol he had set up, & bid him, Go; but his Way was perverse before the Lord, and his Heart not right in his sight, who knows and sees full-well what is in the Darkness of man's Heart; but the Dumb Ass speaking with Man's Voice told the Prophet of his Madness, and yet he would go from place to place with his Offerings, with his Master Balack; for with Balaam he and his Promotion was esteemed better than the Lord, his Counsel and People, just like Baal's Prophets, who cried Peace to the Wicked, at whose Table they did eat; and like too many of our Parish-Masters and Priests, who speak Peace even to all which put into their Mouths, and against the rest they prepare War, although with God in Jesus Christ they be in Rest and Peace: But Woe to them from the Lord that rejoice the Wicked, and make the Heart of the Righteous sad with their Lies and Lightness, that be puffed up in their Fleshly Mind above the Fear of the Lord, where their Tongue is not bridled, but what they list almost they can say; they can pervert and wrest words and things to gratify the Evildoer, and to condemn the Innocent, although it be to their own Destruction, and to the darkening the good Understanding, till they be past feeling of the holy Spirit to lead them out of Darkness, the Land of the Shadow of Death, where the Firstborn of Death rules and reigns without any good order; and in this Confusion saying in Word, and gainsaying in Deed, with your Words as smooth as Oil, but War in the Heart; of that Seed and Spirit yea ejoyned to and led by against the very Heart of God, and his Light and Life which his People live with him in; and yet can cry, You have nothing but Love in your Hearts to all, when the Poison is fling out before against the holy Child, and against his holy Government and Order in his Church, which all the Upright in Heart delight to see, and in which the Apostle rejoiced when he wrote to the Church after this manner, I am rejoiced greatly to behold your good Order, and the Steadfastness of your Faith in Christ Jesus. And again, he saith in another place, Now we live, if you stand fast: And what must they stand in, but even in that holy Liberty which God (who is not a God of Confusion, but of Order) gave them, which is but one, and of one Mind in all, and all that be led by it, and stand in its Counsel, they be by it made of one Mind, Heart and Soul, there is no Division nor Rent amongst them; for they all be for Christ their Head, who purely put on and keep within this holy Vesture and Garment, although ten thousand times ten thousand together, this Holy Order that is in the Power being observed, we have all but one Spirit, the Author of our Faith and of our Hope, which is but one, and stands in one, and makes all of one Heart and Mind, having all things common, where we all speak one and the same thing, where we all seek the things that be Jesus Christ's, and not our own; these shall not hit each other, nor break their Ranks; nor fall before their Enemy when he shoots sore at them, that they might fall and never rise again; but they that put on this holy Garment, must be girt about with Righteousness also, and out of the Armoury of God, which is built as the holy Tower of David, where be the Shields of thousands of holy Men and Women, which they wore and put on in their time of War and Distress; but when the War was ended, and Peace with God proclaimed over their Enemies, the World and the Devil, than they laid them down there again, giving Glory to God and the Lamb, whose Weapons they were, crying, Thou and the Lamb are worthy to have the Praise and the Honour of all our Salvation and Deliverance now and forever and ever.  
And so I come to re-mind you of those Scriptures which some in their Darkness say I slight, that ye may see whether you be in the same Love those holy and true men were in, or in that Love that is of the Spirit of this World, that's Enmity with God; for they said, even Paul and Moses, Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy Heart, nor suffer Sin to lie upon him; but thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Brother: and this is the Love which the Lord owneth, and which he himself is the Author and Root of, which hates the Evil, and loves the Good, and loves to see it exalted in Righteousness and in Judgement, over all Deceit of Men, that be Cunning and Crafty, inventing Ways to hold the Truth in Unrighteousness, and to press into the Kingdom and holy Inheritance among the Saints in Light, but yet have not known the holy, equal and just Law of God fulfilled in them, which fits and makes meet to inherit it.  
And Paul saith▪ who was a man that died daily to the Love, the Friendship and Fashions of this Evil World, through the Rejoicing he had in Christ Jesus, the true Light (he had Power to do this) and to testify what manner of Love the Love of God was; and said, Let Love be without Dissimulation; abhor that which is Evil: or as Peter saith, Hating the Garment spotted of the Flesh.  
And now hear some of the Say of David, who harkened to the Lord, and to his words, which were pure words, to his Precepts and Statutes, which were Life to his Soul, and rejoiced his Heart greatly; nay, saith he, I took the Testimonies of the Lord for my Heritage in the House of my Pilgrimage, and all thy Precepts were before me; and I did not put away thy Righteous Judgements from me: more are they to be desired (by me) than Gold, yea, than much fine Gold: and at Midnight will I arise to praise the Lord, for his Righteous Judgements; for Zion 's Children, which be God's Children, they be saved through Judgement and Righteousness. So you may see who be turning Judgement backward with your feigned Love and Pity, like old Ely to his Sons, whilst they were in the Transgression, whilst he that made them would not have Mercy on them; and he that form them from the Womb, as it were, to be his Servants, and to wear an Ephod and a holy Prieft's Garment before him; but seeing his Covenant was broken by them, and the Sacrifices kicked at, which he appointed in his Habitation, therefore would he show them no Favour, but judged them and their Father's House forever.  
But how did this good man David love to be judged, searched and tried by the Lord! he was afraid of his Ways, like Job, lest there should be any Iniquity in him, hid in his Heart as a sweet Morsel, and lest he had not a true Respect and Regard to all God's Commandments, which he said were pure, and gave Light as a Lamp & Lantern to his Understanding, & to the making Wise of the Simple. And I do beseech you all, who say, You are led by the same Spirit, to consider whether the same Fruit be brought forth by you in this respect, or whether you love it in its Root and Buddings forth; or whether the other thing that's contrary be not budded, even whether Pride be not budded and broken forth into a Rod of Violence, to smite the Innocent with, who in true Love dare judge nothing in you but the Bad.  
I will sing of Mercy and Judgement, unto thee O Lord will I sing; I will behave myself wisely in a perfect Way: 
Psal. 101.  O when wilt thou come unto me. I will walk within my House with a perfect Heart. I will set no wicked thing of Belial before mine Eyes. I hate the Work of them that turn aside (from the path of Uprightness) it shall not cleave to me: a froward Heart shall departed from me. I will not know a wicked Person (& we all in so doing shall know the Heart of God a coming to us; for I am sure if we open to him when he judges, he in Bowels of tender Mercy will open to us) Whose privily slandereth his Neighbour, him will I out off. Him that hath a High Look and a Proud Heart, will I not suffer; but mine Eyes shall be upon the Faithful of the Land, or perfect in the Way, that they may dwell with me. He that walks in this Way, he shall serve me: he that worketh Deceit, shall not dwell within my House: he that telleth Lies shall not tarry in my Sight. (This was a right mind in David; and be not you wrong who be in any measure gratifying and giving ease to any Lying Slanderous Spirit.) I will early destroy all the Wicked of the Land, that I may cut off Wicked Doers from the City of God.  
Shall I hid from Abraham that thing that I do? shall be not surely become a great Nation? 
Gen. 18.17.  for I know him, that he will command his Children and his Household after him, and they shall keep the Way of the Lord to do Justice and Judgement▪ that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.  
Read what Moses said of Levi; Let thy U●im and thy Thummim be with thy Holy One, 
Deut. 33.  whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the Waters of Meribah; who said unto his Father and to his Mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his Brethren, nor know his own Children, for they have observed thy Word, and kept thy Covenant. (So here we see, God and his Covenant was more than all Relations and Affection.) They shall teach Jacob thy Judgements and Israel thy Law; they shall put Incense before thee, and whole burnt-Offerings upon thine Altar: Bless, Lord, his Substance, and accept the Work of his Hands; smite through the Loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again. And consider also what the Lord said of Judah, who was his Law giver; Thou art he whom thy Brethren shall Praise; thy Father's Sons shall bow down to thee: And Aaron was to bear the Iniquity of the Children of Israel upon his Heart in the Breastplate of Judgement before the Lord when he went into the holy Place: and they that be come unto Christ Jesus, who is Judge in his own House, and over his own House in Judgement: They that are one with him do know there is no other way to bear Iniquity, but upon the Breast plate of Judgement.  
God spoke to Moses, saying, Phinehas, the Son of Eleazar, 
Numb. 25.11.  the Son of Aaron the Priest, hath turned away my Wrath from the Children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake (in Executing Judgement, Psal. 106.) and that was accounted unto him for Righteousness unto all Generations for ever more) wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my Covenant of Peace, and he shall have it, and his Seed after him, even the Covenant of an Everlasting Priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an Atonement for his People.  
And, Friends, God loves to see Judgement still, even the Judgement of his holy Spirit set up in his House and Church, as ever he did: And did not Saul lose his Kingdom for want of Executing Judgement upon Ameleck, and Ely his Priesthood, and his Family destroyed forever? And did not the Lord make a Promise to Jehu, That his Children to the fourth Generation should sit upon the Throne of Israel, because he had done well in Executing the Judgement of the Lord upon the House of Ahab, who gave up himself to do Wickedly?  
And consider that holy-minded man David, how sweet and pleasant a thing it was to see Brethren dwell together in Unity; he said, It was like to that precious Ointment that was poured upon Aaron 's Head, that had so swest and fragrant a smell; or like the Dew that descended upon the Mountains of Zion, where the Lord commanded his Blessings, even Life for evermore: And David knew where the hand of the Evildoer was not cut off through Judgement, which was a hand of Falsehood and Deceit, which Christ saith doth offend, and must be cut off and cast away; he knew this blessed Unity and Fellowship would soon be lost. And so, if thine Eye offend thee, blind it, and pluck it out, through Judgement, this must be done; For out of the Heart proceeds the Evil Eye, that hunts for Mischief, and watches for Iniquity; for thou wert better enter into Life, having one Eye, than having two to be cast into Hell Fire. So all we that know the Lord, and desire to be true in Heart to him, we know he is a God of Judgement, and that it is through Judgement that Mercy over-shadows; and it is in that just and holy Spirit which leadeth to confess and forsake Sin that purgeth us & cleanseth us from all Sin, and in which we have fellowship with the Father and the Son, and one with another, to our great joy; it's not in another thing, but in the true Light that leads out of all Darkness we enjoy this.  
And I do desire all that Love Christ Jesus, to love his daily Cross that humbles down Self into the Death; and take heed of that Spirit that would make it void and of none effect in any thing, for that will establish Iniquity by a Law; for have not I myself, with many others, traversed the Ways of that Spirit that teaches how to make the Cross of our Lord void and of none effect, in things not to be blamed by any man, but him only that seethe the Heart, that hath not Eyes of Flesh, nor seethe not as man sees? But did I ever find Rest or Peace there? which the Lord hath suffered sometimes, that man might see himself to be nothing out of him, and also to magnify the Riches both of his Patience and Mercy, which the Vessels of Mercy have been a sitting for, to whom be the Glory Eternally, who out of all Names and Things is bringing and drawing the Minds and Spirits of his People to himself, and to that holy Name in his House, and Place within his Walls of Salvation, that's better than a Name of Sons and Daughters: Oh! into that pure Mind come, that seeks nothing but the Lord and the Kingdom that's in Righteousness; that is the Mind forever in Christ and his true Followers, in which pure Mind he drew nigh to the Father in the day of his deep Distress, in which he feared, crying out to him, If it be Possible, Father, let this Cup pass from me; nevertheless, if it may not, unless I drink it, not My Will, but Thy Will be done: And in this Mind, and no other but that which ever cries, Thy Will be done, can we be answered; this is that holy and acceptable Will that Sanctifies forever, and where we and all that be helpless do find Help and a place of Succour in time of need; for God is a consuming Fire to that Mind and Spirit that is not subjected down into the holy Will of God that Washes and Sprinkles the Conscience from the dead Works, which have no fellowship with the living God: And Cain offered in that Mind, and the Jews prayed in that Mind and Spirit, but the Lord regarded them not, as he did Righteous Abel, and the Cry of the Innocent; therefore read James 4.2, 3. Ye lust, and have not; ye envy, and desire immoderately, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war, and yet get nothing, because ye ask amiss; ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your Lusts, or that you might lay the same out upon your Pleasures. So I do desire you that have known the Lord and his holy Counsel, to stand therein, for to such I speak in Tenderness of Heart, that ye may not make it void and of none effect by letting your Minds reach out to an easier and wider Way, than what the Cross that mortifies self admits of; for a true Word it is and steadfast forever to the Children of men; no Cross, no Abolishing Death, no Crown of Life, no Crown of Glory will Wisdom deliver to thee; for thou art no Child of Wisdom that dost not justify Wisdom in all her Ways; thou that canst own her in some, but not in all her Ways, art not Freeborn from above; thou art a Bastard, and not a Son of the Freewoman. And Friends, that Man or Woman that is not willing to stand in the holy Will and Counsel, when it is once known, will hearken to the Witch for Counsel, as Saul did: And whoever forsakes the Lord, the Fountain of living Waters, they will be hewing to themselves broken Cisterns; as saith the Prophet, Cursed be the man that trusteth in Man, or makes Flesh his Arm, whose Heart hath departed from the living God. O foolish Galatians! (saith Paul) who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the Truth? Have you begun in the Spirit? and what do you think to be made Perfect in the Flesh? Were not they given up to believe a Lying Spirit, who liked not to retain the Knowledge of the true Spirit? Oh! how many have desired to bend the Lord in his Counsel, to serve themselves; like as Balaam did, who although he once knew that the Lord was pleased only to Bless Israel his People, and not to Curse them; yet for his Promotion sake, and Lust's sake he would fain have done it; he went into Error when he went to ask Counsel of God again about that matter, whose Madness and Folly, and his Way which was perverse before the Lord, the dumb Ass reproved: So such as be Convinced of the Lord's holy Way, who love it so as to walk in it without any reservation, be Obedient till the Death, and then will the good Spirit never be grieved, nor with drawn from you; for saith the Lord, Woe be to you when I depart from you; for about the Throne of God and the Lamb, which is for true Judgement, be many Spirits, even now, as in the days of Ahab; and they have now, as then, Commissions given them to wait on them that wait not on the Lord with a pure simple Mind, and to be their Counsellors, who like not to retain God & his Counsel, when he is once known; and this Spirit will become their King and their God, which they shall Curse one day, and look upward as did the Rich and Full Man, who when in his Torment would fain have been comforted with a little of that which the Poor man in Abraham's Bosom did enjoy, but it could not be given him; and this is a Ministration of Justice from the Just God and the Lamb, upon such that have known the Lord, but have not liked to retain him in their Knowledge, and so have been given up to Unrighteousness, until their Temple and House, which was once in part swept and garnished, came again to be filled with Darkness; and here it has happened with them according to the true Proverb, The Dog is returned to his Vomit again, and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the Mire.  
And therefore its good that we all take heed to him who is that most sure and living Word of all the Prophets, so as to abide in it, then will it keep us in the hour of Temptation and Trial: for some which Peter spoke of, and the Author of that Epistle to the Hebrews spoke of, who had tasted of the good Word of God and of the Power of the World to come, and was clean escaped the Pollutions of the World, through the true Knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, these were again entangled and overcome with Sin, to the separating of their Souls from God, and so their Last End was worse than their Beginning; for better had it been for us if we had not known the Way of the Lord, if after we have known it we turn from the holy Commandment; for now is God putting a difference between  and , and between the Sheep and the Goats; and Woe to them that dig deep to hid their Counsel from the Lord, whose work is in the Dark; saying, No Eye may see them. So consider, ye that be for a wide and easy Way, that do the Work overly and slightly at home, so must you needs do it abroad; they that pity not the good in themselves, but can live at ease in the Flesh above the Cross of Christ, which would mortify the Deeds of the Flesh, such be apt to pity and take part with the bad in others and so the Root of Bitterness, which bears Gall and Wormwood springs up apace to the defiling of many; for their Vine is of the Vine of Sodom, and of the Fields of Gomorrah; their Grapes are Grapes of Gall, and their Clusters are Bitter: And this is the Fruit of that Evil Root and Spirit that is risen up in opposition to the Lord and his holy Will and Way this day, who be in the Wilfulness and Presumption, calling those things that be Good, Evil and Idols, and as Jeroboam's Calf, which be nothing else but Effects of that good which is in the Power; and such be as the strong Oaks of Bashan, whom the Lord with his stormy Wind and Tempest will break to pieces, and come upon them, as upon Mortar, and as the Potter when he treadeth Clay, and then shall ye know ye have sinned against the Lord in with standing and slandering his Servants as Apostates, and so your Wells will be without Water, and your Clouds without Rain from the Lord; your Root will be dried up from beneath, and your flourishing Branches which be but in the mixture, and not truly grafted into the living Vine, they shall whither; you shall be as when a Hungry man dreameth he eats, but when he awakes he is still Hungry, and his Soul within him hath still Appetite; or as when a Thirsty man dreameth he drinks, but when he awakes he is still Thirsty; so shall they all be, whatever they have known or seen, that fight against Mount Zion; for Corah and his Company, who cried, Are not all the Lord's People Holy, every one of them? Wherefore then do ye, Moses and Aaron, take so much upon you, as to lift up yourselves above the Congregation of the Lord? These were famous men, men of Renown in the Congregation; and it was themselves that loved to have the Pre-eminence, which they charged upon that Meek man whom God honoured, and they were usurping the Priesthood which the Lord had given to Aaron: These men, I say, doubtless had seen great things, and were men of Understanding, which made them honourable in the Eyes of the People; but they being puffed up in the fleshly Mind, and having darkened themselves with Belial's Spirit, who is a King over all the Children of Pride, they said to Moses, Wilt thou put out the Eyes of this People? and charged him as a Liar in the face of the Congregation, without all fear of God in their Hearts: Moreover, said they, thou hast not brought us into a Land that floweth with Milk and Honey; They would fain have been there to satisfy their Lusts with the good things thereof, whilst they were unfit to partake of them.  
And as I was considering what would be the End of these men who obey not the Gospel; whither will they lead their Followers, who have not the Lord to lead them, but even into the Pit and Ditch of Darkness and Miry Places! out of which the Lord in his manifold Mercies hath plucked our feet; for they be not for Justice, that they esteem harsh and bitter like Wormwood: And these words came fresh into me from the Lord to send amongst you; This is a People Rob and Spoilt; they are snared in Holes, and shut up in Prison-Houses; they are for a Prey, and none saith Restore for a Spoil; and they themselves do not say, Deliver: And against such the Testimony of Truth is.  
But as for such who mean well, and forbear the doing of things, because they see them not, and be kept simple in their Minds, out of the Enmity, the Lord will teach such, and guide them in the way he would have them to go, and to such (God he knows) my Heart is tender; I judge them not, but leave them to the God of Mercy and Judgement.  
And let none be content with Sights or Visions of God only, for Judas, Saul and Balaam and many others had that, whose Hearts and Ears were not Circumcised, nor right before the Lord; for man may see great things whilst himself is yet afar off from him who is the Root and Giver of all good, as Paul saith, 1 Cor. 13.1. Though I understood all Mysteries, though I have the Gift of Prophecy, though I have all Faith, so that I could remove Mountains, though I spoke with the Tongue of men and Angels, and have not Charity, I am but as a sounding Brass and tinkling Cimbal, being out of that more Excellent Way; read Ezek. 16. also, being not subjected down thereunto, in the daily Cross, with that that comes therefrom, Man will soon be puffed up as a Bubble, and become as a wand'ring Star from his own Station and Order; for man being not subjected down into the true Love, to the Giver, he will vaunt himself, as if he bore the Root, or had something which he had not received; and so play the Prodigal until Want and Famine comes upon him: And here is the great Idolatry and spiritual Whoredom when People run out with God's Gift to Sacrifice upon the Mountains, without the Leadings and Conduct of the great Captain of Salvation whose Leadings are always in the living Path of Self-denial, until down into the Humility Self be humbled, and made of no Reputation, and so is the Eye kept waking, and the living Keeper and Shepherd, that never slumbers nor sleeps, comes to be seen Eye to Eye; and the Eye that sees him, is satisfied; and its Lise and Clearness of Sight is in his Presence; and all that work here and walk here, stumble not, neither do they labour in vain, or spend their Strength for nought; for they be Workers together with God, and be the Wise Builders, as Paul was; for the Lord is the Builder of the sure House and City, which hath the Everlasting Foundations, which John the beloved Disciple gives a Relation of, when he was in the Holy Spirit of Self-denial on the Lord's Day, where Christ was his Root and Offspring, his First and his Last, who bid him, Fear not; I am he that was dead, and am alive, and behold I live for evermore; and I have the Keys of Hell and Death.  
And I do desire all that be newly convinced, that you keep your living Thirst and Pant after the living God alive in you, and be not satisfied with any other thing besides the flowing-forth of the sincere Milk of the Word, and the goings-forth of that River which parteth itself into many Streams, from the spiritual Eden of God, to the watering of the Souls of the weary Followers and Flock of God; this is the ancient River, even that ancient River, the River of God, and the Brook in the Way, which, Enoch and all the weary Travellers drank of, and so lifted up their Heads, and their Bow was renewed in their Hand, and their Arm was strengthened by the Arm of the Mighty God of Jacob; thence is the Shepherd the Stone of Israel, and the sure Foundation for the Righteous to build upon throughout all Generations; for they be not the Foolish Builders, raising their Structure with Hay or Stubble, Silver or Gold, or any such thing; for they hear the Word and keep it, they know the Word and do it, and so be the Wise Builders, and so their holy Building and House the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against. So go not forth, nor journey not, whist the Cloud is upon the Spiritual Tabernacle, until you see the Cloud removed, and it going before you, to find you out a Restingplace; and as Joshua said to Israel of old concerning the Shadow of this Spiritual Ark, Joshua 3.4. so may I say to you, Let there be a space between you and it, that you may know the Way you should go; for you have not passed this Way heretofore: and so the Fire in Zion, and the Furnace of the Lord in Jerusalem ye shall know to your Good and not Hurt, who love him above all, even to take away the Bad, which hath separated the Soul from the chief Good; and when he whets his glittering Sword, and causes his holy Hand to take hold on Vengeance, and when he lays his Axe to the Root of the Evil Tree to cut it down into this Consuming Fire, if thou now be patiented, and bear the Indignation of the Lord for Sin, out of the Furnace will he bring thee as Gold, and nothing shall be consumed but that which cannot dwell with the Lord, nor ascend into his Holy Hill; and here to pass through Death will be thy Life, thy Poverty Riches, and thy Loss thy exceeding Gain and great Reward; for thou shalt fear the Lord and his Goodness, and thy Heart shall be enlarged greatly, and lifted up in his holy Way, because the abundance of the Sea shall be converted unto thee, the Glory of that goodly Mountain Lebanon, even so spiritually, wherein dwelled thy Enemy afore-time, shall be given to thee, with the Excellency of Carmel and Sharon. But now run not out with the Flashes that come as Lightning out of the East into the West; but keep down in Humility and Simplicity, and the Lord will teach the Simple, and the living Springs will he guide the Meek in Judgement.  
Oh Friends! it is the Humble that give the Glory to the God of Israel for all his Benefits, and that render back again to him according as from him they have received; and to them will he show his Wonders in the deep; he will beautify them with Salvation, and make them exceeding glad with the Light of his Countenance.  
When David was in the deep Poverty, crying unto the Lord, than did he hear and help him, and shown him great things (to wit) How the Angels of the Lord pitched their Tents about the Fearers of the Lord, and the Thousands of Angels were his Chariots, wherewith he fought, and prevails forever against his Enemies, who touch and grieve his hidden Ones.  
And how did Jacob see the Host of God's holy Angels, and God himself calling and speaking to him out of Heaven, in the Day of his great Distress, when he wrestled with him, and made Supplication to him!  
And when the Prophet's Servant in Dothan had the Eye of his Understanding opened, that is shut in the Proud and Haughty, than he saw the Mountain full of Horses of Fire, and Chariots of Fire round about Elisha.  
And the Apostle, who from a good Experience exhorted so much to Self-debasement and a Dying daily, he said in that great Danger by Sea that he was in, The Angel of the Lord whose he was, stood by him, to counsel and comfort him. And when before Nero he was brought, no man stood by him but the Lord only, and he strengthened him, and he was delivered out of the Mouth of the Lyon.  
And so as thy Ear is open to the living Shepherd's Voice of thy Soul, and his Precepts and Statutes with the Judgements by thee being observed, and not put away from thee nor slighted, thy Eye shall not be dim, but it shall be by the Lord held watching, and the Commands shall be to thee Life; and the Precepts of the Lord will be pure, rejoicing thy Heart, and opening thy Understanding, and him that is true thou shalt see, and no Evil shall come nigh thy Dwelling, and as Christ said to them that kept his Say, they should never see Death; but they being given up as a whole Burnt-Offering, into the holy Will, where is the holy Flames of Love, that many Waters cannot quench, they shall see Life and Immortality brought to light, and so come to be clothed upon with their Holy House from Heaven, as the Unholy House of the Wicked is broken down and destroyed.  
H. W.  
THE END.