A DISCOVERY Of some fruits OF The 

Profession  
Religion  
Ministry  
Government   of this NATION, Which maketh the Land to mourn, and vexeth the soul of the Righteous from day to day.  
Also the Relation of the world discovered, and wherein it differs from the pure Relation.  
With a few words to the Magistrates that do cast Christ into prison, and will not visit him when they have done, nor suffer his friends and brethren to visit him.  
OH how doth the Profession, Religion, and Ministry, and Government of this Nation shame itself, that drunkenness, oaths, and cursing is heard in the streets, which causeth the Land to mourn, and destroys the creatures of the Lord, and such the Lord commands his servants, and children, to reprove, and they are made a prey upon who reprove in the Gate, sin and evil, drunkenness, cursing and swearing, which is heard up and down the streets, by their faith, by their troth, and many other oaths, when the creatures of God cross their will they will bid a pox on them, and swear, as God's wounds, and these cursed languages, cursed speakers, for reproving such the children of God are hated and persecuted by them that should punish evil doers; here justice falls in the streets, and righteousness is stopped for running down, for the cry of righteousness is spoken against, for when the cry of righteousness is sounded in the streets against unrighteousness, against drunkenness, against deceitful merchandise, cozening and cheating, they are sent to prison as peace-breakers; and when they cry in the streets against oaths, that the Covenant of light might be received, and to turn from their oaths unto him who saith, Swear not at all (which cause the Land to mourn) such are cast into Prisons, and because they cannot swear but abide in the Covenant of light and life, which saith, Swear not at all. And now is the cry at midnight among all the professions in the world, and now is all profession seen and Religion seen to be in the night, it is midnight with it: and now is the voice cried among you, that saith. All flesh is grass, and shall whither and fade as the flower, and God will stain the glory of man and lay the Crowns in the dust, and bring the honour into contempt, for the end of Religion and Profession is seen to be without the life of what they do profess, for what mocking scorning, reproaching, plotting and inventing against them that be the children of light, who be in the possession and the life of the Scripture, what hallowing and shouting there is against them in the streets, which is unbeseemly, and how do the people manifest that they are ill bred, and how do the people manifest their corrupt manners by their evil communications, as let the streets and the high ways witness; but how is youth run into wantonness which should be kept in soberness, and ancient people how are they turned into foolishness, and shame themselves, and the breeding of their children, which should be trained up in modesty and soberness and the fear of the Lord, and they themselves walk in gravity adorned with meek and quiet spirits, which is with the Lord of great price: O how can you but expect Gods judgements to come upon you, and his wrath to be turned against you, and his fury, who with your lips profess him, but your hearts be found afar off, and his life in practice deny; where will you stand in the day of Judgement, for you that be wicked will be as the chaff, who in words profess God, but in works deny him. Was it ever in any age as it is now, men that profess the Kingdom of Christ, and of God, and yet cannot endure to have the Kingdom of Satan to be cried against, to have pride cried against openly, works of darkness cried against openly, pleasures cried against openly, drunkenness cried against openly, oppression cried against openly, that which is not just, not holy, not good, cried against openly, and deceitful merchandise in the markets, and lying, cried against openly, and fight, quarrelling, oaths and cursed speaking, cried against openly, which Christ cried openly against, and said, Swear not at all, whose Kingdom is not of this world, and testified against the world that the works thereof are evil, therefore they hated him; and now men profess his kingdom, and yet cannot endure these things to be cried against; and Deceivers, and blind guides, cried against openly, they cannot endure, as Christ did, Mat. 23. and false Teachers to be cried against openly, or writ against openly, as Peter and Judas did, and as the Prophets Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micha, and Ezekiel did; but such as are commanded of the Lord to cry against such, and to witness against such, are with them that profess the Kingdom of Christ persecuted, and cast into holes and prisons, and yet shame doth not strike their persecutors in the face, but God will cover your face with shame, and night shall be upon you, and all your tinkling, and haughtiness, and bravery, God will bring down. O awake and tremble you careless ones that are grown so lofty, and fear before the Lord, to make a profession of his Son, which are not come to own his light, which from him doth come, and is given to you to believe, which if you do believe, you shall not abide in darkness, but shall have the light of life; but not believing in the light which is given you to believe, this is your condemnation, the light saith Christ.  
Oh how do the Teachers of the world manifest now their folly, and madness, and their persecuting blind zeal, which doth incense the Magistrates to cast the lambs of God into prison: how doth the profession of the world who profess a Church, and Gospel, and Christ, young men, young women, old men, old women, but now are turned scoffers and mockers, which shows the end of their profession, to be without the possession: Oh how hath pride stolen away the heart of man from sincerity, which carries him after toys and fables, and after fashions and lusts of his eye, which manifests to be as the wild Asse-colt, and shows to be as the wild Heifer, that shame and modesty is wanting in the streets, and there is instead of that scorn and derision. Therefore every one of you having a light from Christ the light of the world, who doth enlighten every one that cometh into the world, which light loving it, leads you from the ways of the world and the world, for ye cannot be Heirs of two Kingdoms. And you that cannot endure that wickedness should be reproved in the Gate, but persecute them that do, and cast them into prison, you are the incouragers of evil doers, and not of that which is good; but the Lord God of glory is come and coming to exalt his Kingdom, and overthrow wickedness out of its place, and give the glory to his Son, and the glory of man stain and confound, and exalt his truth and his Kingdom over all, which shall answer the light in every man.  
I am the light of the world, and do enlighten every one that cometh into the world: Now every one of you being ●inlightned with the light that cometh from Christ, which light shows you, you should not lie, tells you, you should not be drunk, tells you, you should not take God's name in vain, tells you, you should not follow whoredom, which light tells you, you should not cousin, nor cheat one another, nor swear, but keep to yea and nay in all your communications: Now with this light in you which Christ hath enlightened you withal, you see evil thoughts, and evil d●sires, and evil affections, this is the true light that doth manifest these things afore mentioned, and this is the true light which doth reprove when you act those things contrary to the light, which if you love the light and walk in it, you will come to learn of Christ, who saith, Learn of me from whence it comes, who inlightneth every man that cometh into the world, that all men through him might believe. Now you poor people you all are enlightened with this light, and you all know these things before mentioned to be contrary to the light, with the light which it manifesteth: And you rich people and great men you have a light in you which comes from Christ Jesus which shows you your hearts and sin and evil, when that your hearts are gross and deceitful, this light within shows it you, which is the light that cometh from Christ the true light, who lighteth every man that cometh into the world, that all men through him might believe, and he that believeth receives the Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes: And every one in particular waiting in the light given to you to believe which cometh from Christ, who saith, Learn of me, I am the way, I am the truth, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me; here you will feel your Teacher that cannot be removed into a corner, Christ Jesus, who saith, Learn of me; This is my beloved Son hear ye him, saith God: And here every one having a light from Christ given to you to believe, who saith, Learn of me, here is your Teacher, but if you hate this light, which from Christ doth come, and follow the world's Teachers, the hireling which deceives you, and follow such as the Apostles and the Prophets and Christ cried against, as Isaiah Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Micha, and Peter, and Judas, and Mat. 23. as you may read, now these that gave forth Scripture say these are the Deceivers, and were witnessed against; and Christ hath said, Learn of me, I am the way, no man cometh unto the Father but by me, now if you hate this light, and follow the forementioned contrary to the light, this is your condemnation, the light, saith Christ; but if you love the light which is Christ, who saith, learn of me, you will find your Teacher, as you lie in your beds, and as you are in your occasions; which will keep you to yea and nay in your communications, for whatsoever is more is evil from the light contrary to the truth.  
THe Relation that stands in destroying is by the children of light denied, all such who live out of the light and out of it walk, who wear the old Garment, whose minds is corrupt, and hath a wisdom and with it know not God, and hath a knowledge and with it corrupt themselves, and hath a humility but feigned, and hath a worship but in the will, and hath a righteousness but in the self, and speaks the high words but it is in the hypocrisy, and hath a liberty but in the flesh, where the Spirit is in prison, who in cain's way is gone, hath not an habitation in God whose affections are below in the Earth and to it, and serve the lusts and the pleasures, whose conversation is among the wicked and there is the world's Relation, where lodgeth the strife, and debate, and deceit, and disdain, and setting up that which God will throw down, now while this is standing which is contrary to the light, they that in the light do walk and be in it those they deny, and see that which leads nature out of its course, which set the whole course of nature on fire, and there the whole world are in confusion, and all the tongues are unbridled where power over them is not while that reigns that leads nature out of course, his Religion is vain and that Relation stands out of truth, but all such as to the light be turned see with the light, that doth manifest, what leadeth nature out of course, the marriage that is honourable and the marriage that is not honourable, and what sets the whole course of nature on fire, and what leads nature into course, where the pure Relation the entrance of it is received, where the self and its righteousness is denied and the righteousness of Christ received, where the worship of the will is denied and the worship of God in Spirit and truth is received, where self righteousness is denied and Christ the righteousness of God received, and the former conversation put off and the conversation in Heaven witnessed, and the affections below changed and the affections which are above come to, here is the pure Relation known without guile, which are out of cain's way, where the habitation in God is witnessed and seen, where the just lives by his faith, and the honouring in the Lord known, the true humility learned of Christ, who is not of the world, though it by him was made, who lighteth every man that cometh into the world, who is man's way out of it, which light is man's condemnation if he doth not believe in it: And the Relation which is in the world who hate light is in the lust where the perverseness is, in the love of the world, where the envy is, where the invention is, selfishness, crossness, perverseness, backbiting, maliciousness, filling with unrighteousness, yet they have a love, yet they have a Relation; now the light which comes from Christ, the beloved of God, where the love of God is received, the world's Relation denied, for the Relation of the world destroys and devours, but the children of light, which be in the Relation out of the world, live in peace, unity, and fellowship, and comfort enjoyed in the Holy Ghost. So all you that profess Relation in word, and envy lodgeth in your heart against one another, and yet flatter one another to your faces, and backbite one another behind the back, such Relations we do deny, and have a witness in your own conscience against it. And all that profess Relation to one another, and love and friendship with the tongue, and in heart deceive one another, and cousin one another, and cheat one another, and lie and dissemble one with another, all such Relations we deny and have a witness in your conscience against it. And all such as profess Religion, or worship, or humility, righteousness and the Scripture, Christ and the Prophet's words, and live out of their life, & live in envy & malice, & yet profess you have a Relation to Christ and God whom you have not seen, and you love him and do not love them whom you have seen, such Relations we do deny. And all such as cry up your experiences, high notions, your manifestations as you call them, dispensations as you call them, and live in pride, strife, and envy, debates, derision, scorn loftiness, high-mindedness, be out of the light, and out of the way in cain's, and out of the pure Relation, we have a witness in your conscience against those things, which lets you see what you possess, and let you profess no more if to it you harken, which turns from the world and the Relations therein, for all who believe not the light and are not to it come, have a love but it is in the world, and a Relation but it is in the world, which is enmity to God, so that relation which is enmity is denied with the light, that love which is enmity is denied with the light which leads to the pure Relation, the pure love which envies not, where the destroyer and devourer is rebuked.  
YOu that be Magistrates which do cast Christ into prison and will not visit him when you have done, nor suffer his friends and brethren to visit him in prison, and there you keep him in prison till he hunger and thirst, and you prison him as a vagabond, who hath no place to lay his head, sick and in prison and you visit him nor: but the corner stone is set up, and the rock of ages manifest, and him who bears the Government upon his shoulders, whose kingdom is without end, and dominion hath no end, which is an everlasting dominion, which dominion is over all dominions, whose Sceptre is righteousness, whose Law royal stands over all, answereth that of God in all, and respects no man's person, but is holy, just, and righteous, persect and good, whose Priesthood is royal everlasting that never changeth, who lighteth every man that cometh into the world, that men might believe and see the way out of the world, Christ the light, the way, the truth, who is the Covenant of light, of peace, and of life. Was not Christ crucified in Sodom and Gomorrah spiritually? and are not they Sodomites that imprison him? and are not the Sodomites them that live in fullness of bread, and idleness, and the filthy conversation, which the righteous soul grieves and vexeth, which Christ is Shepherd of, and the Bishop, who is a witness in all consciences which witnesses against the lusts that war against the soul? Was not all the profession of Christ before he was manifest in the flesh, and when he was manifested in the flesh, hypocrisy among them that profess him in words and did not believe in him who was the light but cast him into prison, and he was sick and they visited him not, and was hungry and they fed him not, and he was naked and they clothed him not, such as neither knew his voice, nor the Prophets that shown the coming of him: and is not all the profession of Christ now hypocrisy among them that profess him in words and do not believe in him who is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, but cast him into prisons, and holes, and dungeons, and he is sick and you visit him not, and hungry and you feed him not, and thirsty and you give him no drink, and naked and you cloth him not, but into prison cast him as a vagabond who hath no place to lay his head, The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath no place to lay his head, Christ the same yesterday to day and for ever. Therefore awake you Rulers and fear the Lord and hear the voice of the Son of God that you may live, for now is Christ come to reign, the same that ever was, whom into prison you do cast, and with your wills would not suffer him to reign; but Christ will reign who is not borne by the will of man, who is King and rules, and now reigns in his Kingdom and dominion which is without end, and in his power & in his fullness, who filleth all things, & thousands of his fullness have received, & of his power, as many as have received him, to become the Sons of God. From them whom the world scornfully calls Quakers.   

London, Printed for T. Simmons at the Bull & mouth near Aldersgate. 1656