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practice of the Jews, when they were back-slidden, and of the heathen, to imprison and persecute the prophets, and send after them into other countries? And is this not the practice of you now, who are holding up your high places, which the papists set up, which ye now call your churches, where ye beat and persecute? What religious people are you that are filled with so much madness? Did not Paul confess he was mad, while he was in your practice, haleing, beating, prisoning, putting out of the synagogues, having his authority from the chief priests? And are not the chief priests the cause of this? Was there ever such a cry made in any age past, as there is now in the pulpits, railing against an innocent people, whom ye in scorn call Quakers, who lift not up an hand against you; and who are indeed the pious, that are of the pure religion, who fear God, and worship him in the spirit and in the truth, but cannot join with you in your religion? And do not the ministers of God say, that the scriptures are a declaration, which you call the word? Do not you rob Christ of his title, and of his honour, and give it to the letter, and shew yourselves out of the doctrine of the ministers of God, who call the scriptures by the name of writings and treatises, and declarations, and said, Christ's name is called the word of God? Are not you here in the error you speak of, which is your common talk among you? There was talk among some of you of your gospel-shining: doth your gospel which you profess persecute? Did ever any of them, that did possess it, cast into prison and not suffer others to go to visit them? Are you like Christians in this or like heathens, who set bounds and watches over the land, that they should not pass to visit them that be in prison? Was ever the like heard in any age? Search and see, if you have not outstripped them in all your watches, if not in your manner of persecution and in your imprisonments and oh! never talk, that we are a grief to them that are in the pure religion. And whereas in your warrant we are represented as disaffected to government; I say, the law, which is a terror to the evil-doer, we own, the higher power to which the soul must be subject; but we deny the evil-doer, the malicious man reigning, and the envious man seeking for his prey, whose envy is against the innocent; who raiseth up the country against honest men, and so becomes a trouble to the country, in raising them up to take the innocent; but that we leave to the Lord to judge. Your false accusations of heresy and blasphemy we do deny; you should have laid them down in particulars, what they had been, that people might have

seen them, and not have slandered behind our backs: the law saith, the crime should be mentioned in the warrant. Then for your saying, we deny the godly ministers to be a true ministry of Christ, that is false; for we say, that the godly ministers are the ministers of Christ. But which of your ministers dare say, that they are truly godly? And for your charging us with seducing many weak people, that is false also, for we seduce none; but you, that deny the light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, are seduced from the anointing which should teach you; and if ye would be taught by it, ye would not need that any man should teach you. But such as are taught by the anointing, which abideth in them, and deny man's teaching, these ye call seducers, quite contrary to John's doctrine, 1 John 2. You speak quite contrary to him; that which is truth, ye call seducing, and that which he calls seducing, you call truth; read the latter part of the chapter and beware, I warn you all from the Lord God of glory, set not any bound against him, stint him not, limit not the Holy One of Israel; for the Lord is rising in power and great glory, who will rule the nations with a rod of iron, which to him are but as the drop of a bucket; he that measures the waters in the hollow of his hand, will dash nations together as a potter's vessel. And know, you that are found in this his day blaspheming his work, that God hath brought forth, calling it blasphemy, fighting against it, setting up your carnal weapons, making your bonds strong; God will break asunder that which your carnal policy hath invented, and which by your carnal weapons ye would uphold, and make you to know there is a God in heaven, who carries his lambs in his arms which are come among wolves, and are ready to be torn in pieces in every place, yea, in your steeple-houses, where are people without reason, and that have not natural affection. Therefore all ye petty-constables, sheriffs and justices, take warning, and take heed, what ye do against the lambs of Christ; for Christ is come, and coming, who will give to every one of you a reward according to your works, you which have the letter, which speaks of Christ; but now ye are persecuting that which the scripture speaks of, so your fruits make you manifest. Therefore every one, sheriff, justices, constables, &c. see what ye do possess; consider what ye do possess, and what a profession ye are now in, that all these carnal weapons are now set up against the innocent, yea, against the truth; which shews that ye have not the spiritual weapons, that they are not among you; and that ye want the counsel of Gamaliel,

yea, ye want the counsel of such a man among you, who said,Let the apostles alone; if it be of God, it will stand; if it be not, it will come to nought.' But ye may see yourselves on the contrary, in the spirit of them that came with Judas, with swords and staves from the chief-priests against Christ, still it is against Christ, where he is made manifest. Paul (while Saul) went against him, though he professed a Christ that was to come; and the Jews professed a Christ that was to come; yet Paul persecuted him, where he was manifested in his saints. So ye profess a Christ that is come, but persecute him where he is manifest. You that have the letter, the high-places, the synagogues, you persecute him, where he is made manifest in his saints, as the Jews did. They who were in the letter, out of the life, persecuted them that were in the life of that which they profess in the letter: so now do you persecute them that are in the life, and are yourselves strangers to it, as your fruits make appear. You have numbered the people of God amongst transgressors; but have you prisoned any of the rogues and transgressors you speak of? You have prisoned the innocent, and let others go free.'

G. F.

When I had sent abroad the foregoing papers concerning the watches, that were then set up to intercept and stop friends in their travels in the work of the Lord; so great a sense came upon me of the darkness and veil that was over the priests and professors of Christianity, that I was moved to give forth the following paper, as an awakening warning to them.

'Blindness hath happened to the professed Christians of the letter now a days, as blindness happened to the Jews, who professed the letter, but owned not the life which the letter speaks of; as the Christians now, to whom this blindness hath happened, who profess the scripture, but own not the life, which the scripture speaks of. For against the life the Jews stood, who professed the letter of the scripture, but they were blind, they gathered counsel against the life; they were in an uproar when the babe was born in Bethlehem, Herod and all the chief priests. And Herod sought to destroy all the young children in Bethlehem, yet missed the babe; Herod, that fox, though he slew John, and put him to death. And you may here see how the literal professors did stand up, not for the truth, but quite against it: furthermore, the chief priests

consulted together how they might take Jesus by subtilty, and put him to death; mark, by their subtilty. The professors of a Christ that was to come, they preached of a Messiah, of a Christ, of a Saviour, but denied the life when he was made manifest. The chief priests and the council gathered together, they professed his words; and the chief priests, who were gathered together with the council, said that his disciples had stolen him away by night, and gave large monies to the soldiers to declare this. Likewise in the day, when the children of Israel were in Egypt, and they with their children began to spread and multiply, Come, said the Egyptians, let us deal wisely with them to afflict them, and tax them; which held, until the Lord overthrew their oppressors, and brought out his seed by his mighty power from under the oppressor, and exalted his son above all, though the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things; and he made his power known, that all might see that there was no God upon the earth but himself. This power now hath brought forth the work of the Lord! Many who be turned to the light, Christ, have received the power of God, and are thereby become the sons of God. Now this birth, that is born of God, are all the powers of the world joined together to crucify, to put to death those Jews in the spirit, as they did put Christ to death in the flesh formerly. This is the birth that all the wicked world is enraged against and mad at; against this they set their watches, this birth, brought forth by the Mighty God of Jacob, who rides upon the high places of the earth. This is the birth that the professed Christians without the life in our days and age rage against, and lay out all their wisdom about. Are not the chief priests and wise men of the earth consulting together how they might destroy this birth? Is not this the birth, that is banished out of your hearts, you that profess the scripture, and are talkers of it, but do not own the light and life which the scripture speaks of, as the Jews would not; and so will not have Christ to reign over you, as they would not? Do you not hale out of your synagogues and before magistrates? Do you not herein fulfil Christ's words, who said to his disciples, They should be haled out of the synagogues, and before rulers? Do you not persecute them from city to city? Do you not almost fill your prisons with them? And now set your watches that none should go to visit them, whom ye have put into prison? Is not this an unchristian spirit? How can you for shame say you are upholders of truth? Or how can you for shame say that truth hath been professed among you? Yet we

say, we grant that you have talked of it. And how can you for shame say the gospel shines among you, when you will not own it, the life of it, when you call it error, and the evil seed? Yea, the very truth, yea, the very life of truth ye have blasphemed against now, as the Jews did against Christ, calling him a devil; you now call it error, and the evil seed, and stand up against it, and turn the sword against it. As it was in the days of the Jews, who turned the sword against Christ, so it is in these days of the professed Christians of the scripture, but out of the life that gave it forth; as it was with the Jews outward in the flesh, who were not the Jews in the Spirit. And is it not a shame to all the ministers of the gospel, (as they are called) that they can find no better way to maintain that which they call the truth and their gospel, than by carnal weapons, stocks and prisons, and whips, watches and wards, and powers of the earth? Were these the apostles' weapons? Carnal watches and wards, stocks and prisons, and haleing out of the synagogues, when they came to speak? Judge yourselves what an antichristian spirit you have. Never talk of defending truth with that which is against truth. For are you not setting up the rabble of the world against it? Do they not join with you with swords and staves against it? And is this the life of Christians? Is not this the life of error, and of the evil seedsman? Surely, ye would find work enough, if ye were in the fear of the Lord, to turn your swords against profaneness, the oaths and wickedness that is in your streets and highways; how do they ring like Sodom, and give a sound like Gomorrah! But they are become a prey in this your age, that reprove in your gate sin, wickedness and profaneness, they are become your by-word. Against them your councils are gathered, and them you cast into prison, and hale them out of your synagogues, and cast them likewise into prison, that write against it, and speak against it, and set your guards to stop and hinder any from visiting them whom you cast into prison, and give them the names of vagabonds and wanderers. Was ever the like heard in the days of the heathen against the apostles who witnessed the gospel? Did they set guards and watches in every town, in every city, to take the disciples, the brethren, the be lievers, that heard that the apostles were cast into prison, and came to see what they wanted? Shew ye not as much rage and fury now in your age, as was in those that were in that age? And how can you talk of the gospel, and of defending the gospel, when you are setting guards and watches against it, and are defending that which stands

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