An Epistle to Friends.  
Dear Friends and Well-beloved in the Lord, unto whom my Spirit wisheth peace and prosperity for Ever;  
that as the Lord hath made himself manifest unto you, Even so to love him and abide with him, and their you will find safety and preservation in all danger. & you will not Easily be moved or shaken as to the truth which ye have Received, but will stand firm and sure as upon a Rock, for ye that are come into the Faith of the Son of, God you cannot easily go from him, or part with him, for you Remember the time when you wanted him, & the days and nights of mourning because you could not find him, and now that he hath manifested himself unto you in his Light, and that ye have found him, and Received him, can you leave him, and forsake him to Embrace the world again, or can you Run after any airy Spirit into an airy Kingdom, oh no, the true birth cries my beloved is mine and I am his, with sore travel I have found him, and in diligent watchfulness I will wait to keep with him, for he is the chiefest of ten thousand, and his love is better than wine, and so you come to sit under his wing, and under his shadow, and in his presenc have fullness of joy, and this is your satisfaction, peace and consolation, and ye cannot go from that to join with the enemy's temptation, for ye know in whom you believe, and by whom you are preserved, and in him all live, Even in Christ Jesus, who is the Life and Substance, and so in him you will be Solid and weighty, and Savory and sound in Spirit and mind, and there ye will honour the truth in a clear and living testimony to God's glory therefore keep your eye to the watch, that as ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, you may walk in him, and abide with him, for where any suffereth loss they neglect the watch, but as you watch in the light, you will not only see your Enemy but receive power to Resist him, and in due time to overcome him and seeing the Enemy takes all advantages to work his work, how then should every one seek after their safety & Security & stand in readiness to resist their Enemy. And how are all concerned to have the s●me care one over another in love and tenderness of spirit, for it is a work well pleasing unto God and they are of good report who are found in it, and their memory is blessed for ever, and how this care ha●h been manifested in time of danger; it is witnessed by such as are preserved, for how hath the Enemy endeavoured not only to ensnare with the world, but to reign above the seed in his airy kingdom, and how hath some been affected with his work as having a fair likeness in a show of higher discoveries, and how hath the care of brethren been manifested in this hour of temptation, for in the first appearance or breaking forth, it dazzled the Eyes of many, and they did not well know whether it was day or night? or what the Lord would do in such a sudden change or alteration, and then was the travail of Brothers very great, as having much care of the body, and their testimony they faithfully published, and the Lord hath wrought mightily unto preservation and restoring, though sum in their own wisdom may still pleas themselves in that Kingdom, and notwithstanding the Lord hath so preserved, and restored, and given dominion over the hour of this temptation, and that the work which by the same was intended is by the power of God prevented, and the true ministry standeth, and the true worship standeth, and true unity standeth, and the holy Seed reigneth, yet it is needful for all to be watchful, lest the same spirit rise again in another likeness or form, for where he hath been bruised and foiled he will not so readily put up his head in that likeness again, but rather form some other & if the watch be not kept, the same affections may be taken again as before: for the wrong that any suffer in things of this nature is by the strength of natural affections, in which the enemy can excercise his Subtlety to deceive, and where the affections are let at liberty they will be catching at every new presentation, not regarding the ground from whence they came, and seeing that the power of the Lord God hath bruised him in this appearance, even so to watch in the power and keep him down with all his form likenesses, and there ye will witness the conquering power and overcoming power of God, and the preservation and deliverance by it. Oh the power of the Lord which conquers & overcomes the enemy it is a thing which is beyond expression, and yet may have a service through what is expressed, for thereby weak hands may be strengthened and feeble knees confirmed, and the poor and needy encouraged to follow the Lord, and keep the faith without wavering, and so in the power there is a going forward and a growth in grace and Godliness, and there love and peace and unity aboundeth in he true seed, and the seed goes over the Serpent's head and breaks it, and overthrows his power and strength and authority, and so the true seed comes above him, and the birth of God rejoices over him. And so all friends mind your growth in the power and virtue of God, and keep your testimony in his life and wisdom, and your judgement in a clear discerning, and let your love and respect be unto such as faithfully labours in the word and Doctrine, & give no heed to that Spirit which would persuade you to disrespect brethren, for though the faith of out Lord jesus Christ is not held in respect of persons, as to say to the Rich sit thou hear above, and to the poor sit thou there at my footstool. Yet who be in the faith of our Lord jesus Christ they are taught to respect every person who be in the same faith, for how can any love one another according to Christ's command, if they disrespect their persons, for love and respect are mutually joined, but some makes a noise about men and persons, and would have people cease from man, and not respect persons, and so would cunningly overthrow love and respect amongst friends, and where the Enemy sets up this doctrine he brings in envy in stead of love, and hatred in stead of respect, & they that receive this doctrine into their belief, they soon go out from the Saints fellowship: for God hath clothed some with his wisdom, and with power from on high hath endued them, and in body soul and Spirit hath Sanctified them, and so as Sanctified men he calls them to labour in his work, and commits the word of Reconciliation to them, and Entrusts the Gospel of peace with them, and they that cease from such men and disrespect such men, they cease from the power of God and disrespect the power of God, forasmuch as the power of God speaks in and by them: and so he hath set some in the Church who hath authority in his power and wisdone to order and Ed●fie it, and this is a work beyond gathering and convincing, and who are come into the unity of the faith, and to the knowledge of the Son of God, and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, they dare not disrespect his Apostles and ministers but hath unity with them in their work and Rejoices in their labour, and therefore beware of such, who wresteth Scripture from its own Intention according to the mind of the Spirit, and let your love and respect be Enlarged one towards another; and let your words be few and savoury, and in the Light walk reservedly, retiredly, for where words gusheth forth like water from a spout, the Tongue is not commanded with the bridle and so is unruly and at liberty to speak in the abundance of superfluity, and such discourses may tickle the minds of some hearers and cause them to admire, but as to Edification there is no Savour in them, and all hold your unity and fellowship in the light and power of God, and watch over the natural affections which are Inordinate, that so in the seed you may be kindly affectionated one to another, and in the seed feels your refresh together in the manifestations of your unity. For the inordinate affections only stirreth up the Inordinate part, and thereby begetteth the affections in others by its Inordinate manifestation, & though in manifestation it carries a great show of love, yea, seemingly more then what kindly affectionated friends do manifest, yet it reacheth no further by its manifestation then only the natural affections, but unfeigned love reacheth the seed, and in the unity of the seed friends are refreshed one in another. And dear friends as concerning the present times; be not ye troubled, but keep close to the Lord and c●st your care upon him, and live with him, and so the times will not concern you, neither will you concern yourselves with the times, but mind that which concerns your peace out of the times, for though you may see distress and calamity depending as to the nation, yet you are not to concern yourselves in it, but to stand still and eye the Lord, which I am fully persuaded many of you do, and they that do not so they create their own perplexity in the multitude of their own thoughts, therefore all keep in the faith and in the love of God and his truth, and follow peace and pursue it, and then you will be ready to receive what God permittesh in true contentment, and so be still and quiet & feel God's peace and blessing, and there lie down and trust the Lord with all you have, and then if Nation Rise against Nation and Kingdom against Kingdom, and that there be wars or famine or pestilence, you are not troubled nor disquieted as other people whom fears Surpriseth, but rest in your Inward possession and feel God's peace and blessing, for when calamity comes upon a nation or Kingdom because of Sin and iniquity therein, it surprises the sinner with fear because they are guilty & they are ready to take hold one of another, & yet dare not trust one another, such is their fear on every side, and if they fall in the Calamity they fall in their iniquity, and so falls in misery, but such as fears the Lord they lie down in peace, though in the same common calamity they be taken away, and therefore it is with me to say unto you as it was said in times past, fear not little flock for it is your father's good pleasure to give you a Kingdom and let this be your full satisfaction, for God hath provided better things for you then what is hear below, yea, he hath provided a Kingdom and it is his good pleasure to give it you, and so your portion and inheritance is above & your riches above & your treasure above, and there let your hearts be, & let no man entice you with high words or arguments concerning the truth, for that will only make you notional, but keep low in God's fear & power, and walk in the plain path, and there the Lord will meet you, and speak comfortably to you, and with his presence will refresh you, and that is the most desirable thing, and so in all things be watchful with diligence, that as you have Escaped dangers past, even so ye may be kept from dangers to come, and then ye will finish a clear testimony to God's glory, and receive Etenall life as your reward, and the Everlasting God of power be with you, in whose love my Spirit Salutes you and rests with you. Finally my brethren Far ye well  
Nottingham the first day of the 5. month 1667. W. S.