against it; and the lambs of Christ are almost torn to pieces amongst you, who are like wolves; for the Lord hath now sent his lambs amongst wolves. And have not you professed the words of Christ, and of the prophets and apostles, as the Jews had long professed the scriptures, the words of Moses, and of the prophets, that prophesied of Christ that was to come, and stood against him when he was come? as you do in this day of his reign, and in this day of his glorious gospel, who are persecuting the messengers of it, imprisoning them, persecuting them in your streets and highways, and now setting up your watches against them, who bring you the glad tidings of peace to your souls, whose feet are beautiful a top of the mountains; mark, a top of the mountains, that against which the mountains rage and swell; but God will make them to melt, the sun is risen, which will make them to melt: and God will cleave the rocks and mountains asunder, and make the hills to bow perpetually; for his Son he will exalt, and his glory he will give to him and not to another. Therefore be awakened, ye rulers of the earth, and take counsel of the Lord, and take not counsel together against him. Make not your bonds strong, and set not yourselves in battle against him, for ye will be found but as briars and thorns before him, which the fire shall consume. Therefore be awakened, all ye that be talkers of the scripture, and that gather yourselves together by your multitudes and meetings, and have had your teachers; but not having the Spirit that gave forth the scriptures, the Lord God of glory, the Father of spirits, will scatter you; all your bonds will not hold you together, who are out of the Spirit, which is the bond of peace. The threshing instrument is gone forth, which will beat the hills to pieces; Sion is risen to thresh; out of the holy mountain is the trumpet sounded. Stand not up against the Lord; for all nations are with the Lord as the drop of a bucket. He that measures the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighs the earth in scales, the Lord of hosts is his name, who is now risen and rising to plead the cause of the innocent; who is exalting his Son and bringing his sheep to him. Now are they seen and known that feed upon wind, that are lifted up, given up to believe lies, who report, and say, Report, and we will report it.' Now are they seen who have a form of godliness, but the power is denied by them; so Christ is denied, the power itself is denied, for Christ is the power of God. And the power being denied by you, that have a form of godliness, that have the words of the scriptures, the gospel is denied, for

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the gospel is the power of God. And thus it is among you, that have the knowledge and wisdom that is sensual, earthly and devilish; doth it not appear so? Let your jails and watches witness your fruits in every town. Your wisdom is earthly, sensual and devilish; so you have a knowledge and wisdom, but not that which is from above, for that is pure and gentle, and so is not your knowledge; but to know Christ is life eternal. Now your fruits have manifested that you are not of this, and so out of the power of God, which is the cross of Christ; for you are found in the world out of the power of God, out of the cross of Christ, persecuting. So that which doth persecute, and send forth writings and decrees to stop all, and take up all, and set watches, and prepare bonds to stint the Lord, to imprison and persecute, and suffer none to go to visit them; this shews you are not Christians, but stand against a Christian's life, which is to love your enemies. Where is your heaping up coals of fire; your love to your enemies, who are thus persecuting your friends? He came to his own, and his own received him not; here is turning the sword against the just. Do you shew here a Christian's life, or yourselves Christians, who are filling your jails with the Christians in the Spirit, you that be in the letter (in shadows) as the Jews in the letter did put the Jews in the Spirit into prison? Is not this the fruit in our days of the Christians in the letter, to put the Christians in the Spirit into prison? And doth not this shew that your decrees, which you have sent forth, proceed from death, who thus act against the life, and them that be in it, which the scriptures were given forth from? Is it not here as it was with Saul, when he went to persecute, to hale to prison, and bind all that he could find calling upon that name, who were Christians in the life, the spirit, such as now you are persecuting because they are in the life, though you profess their words? Are not your decrees gone forth from the same spirit of envy, against the same spirit of Christ they were in? Is it not manifest to all that fear God, and to the sober-minded and honest-hearted people that see your practices, your decrees, your letters to stop, to molest, to hinder, to imprison them that are moved of the Lord to do his will, or to go to visit prisoners whom you have imprisoned? Doth this shew you to have a spirit like Paul, yea or nay? or are you not, quite contrary, like to them that persecuted Paul? The day hath declared it. To that of God in you all I speak, which shall witness it at the last day, in the day of judgment. Persecution was blind in all ages, and madness and folly

led it; yet persecution got always a form or pretence of godliness, or to talk of religion, as in the days of Moses, in the days of Jeremy, in the days of Christ, and of the apostles. Come,' saith the council, let us crush them while they are young, they have almost over-spread the nation in every corner.' This is as much as to say, let us put this birth to death, as Pharaoh and Herod did the children; but the Lord caused his truth the more to spread. For you may read, what numbers came out of Egypt! and what multitudes followed Christ! Therefore, with consideration read these lines and not with fury, and let not foolishness appear; but consider in humility your ways you act in, and your paths you go in, and what spirit you are of, and what the end of your conversation is, now see; for in love to your souls I write, that in the day of your visitation you may consider it.

"From him who loveth righteousness and the establishing of it, and truth, and peace, and faith, which is by Christ Jesus (mercy and peace be multiplied among such) but a witness against all hypocrites, and all who have a profession, but live out of the possession, who are in an hypocritical religion, in the lusts and fashions of the world, having a form of godliness, but standing against the power with might and main, sword and staff. Which things declare your conversation and practices to be out of Christ's life, against the gospel practice, and contrary to the manner and order of the saints.'

G. F.

We were continued in prison till the next assize, before which time divers friends, both men and women, were sent to prison, that had been taken up by the watches. When the assize was come, several of these were called before the judge and indicted; and though the jailer brought them into court, yet they indicted them, that they came in by force of arms and in an hostile manner; and the judge fined them because they would not put off their hats. But we were not called before the judges any more, but they let us alone.

Great work we had and service for the Lord, both between the assizes and after, amongst the professors and people of all sorts, for many came to see us and to reason with us. And Elizabeth Trelawny of Plymouth (who was the daughter of one called a baronet) being convinced, (as was formerly mentioned) the priests and professors, and some great persons of her kindred were in a great rage concerning her, and writ letters to her; and she being a

wise and tender woman, and fearing to give them any advantage, sent their letters to me; and I answered them, and returned them to her again, for her to send the answers to them. Which she did: till growing in the power and spirit, and wisdom of God, she came herself to be able to answer the wisest priest and professor of them all, and had a dominion over them all in the truth, through the power of the Lord, by which she was kept faithful to her death.

Now, while I was in prison here, the baptists and fifthmonarchy men prophesied, That this year Christ should come, and reign upon earth a thousand years.' And they looked upon this reign to be outward; when as he was come inwardly in the hearts of his people to reign and rule there, and these professors would not receive him there; so they failed in their prophecy and expectation, and had not the possession of him. But Christ is come, and doth dwell in the hearts of his people, and reigns there; and thousands, at the door of whose hearts he hath been knocking, have opened to him, and he is come in, and doth sup with them, and they with him, the heavenly supper with the heavenly and spiritual man. So many of these baptists and monarchy people turned the greatest enemies to the professors of Christ: but he reigns in the hearts of his saints over all their envy.

At the assize divers justices came to us and were pretty civil, and reasoned of the things of God pretty soberly, expressing a pity to us. There came also captain Fox, who was governor of Pendennis Castle, and looked me in the face, and said never a word, but went his ways to his company, and told them, he never saw a simpler man in his life. I called after him, and said Stay man, we will see who is the simpler man.' But he went his way, a light chaffy man.

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There came also at the assize, one Thomas Lower to visit us, and he offered to give us money, which we refused; accepting nevertheless of his love. He asked us many questions concerning our denying the scriptures to be the word of God, and concerning the sacraments, and such like; to all which he received satisfaction. And I spake unto him, and he afterwards said my words were as a flash of lightning, they ran so through him; and he said he never met with such wise men in his life, for they knew the thoughts of his heart, and were as the wise master builders of the assemblies, that fastened their words like nails. He came to be convinced of the truth, and remains a friend to this day. When he came home to his aunt

Hambley's (where he then lived) and made report to her concerning us, she, with her sister Grace Billing, hearing the sound of truth, came afterwards to visit us in prison, and was convinced also. And great sufferings and spoilings of goods both he and his aunt have undergone for the truth's sake.

About this time I was moved to give forth the following paper to friends in the ministry.

'Friends,

In the power of life and wisdom, and dread of the Lord God of life, and heaven, and earth, dwell; that in the wisdom of God over all ye may be preserved, and be a terror to all the adversaries of God, and a dread, answering that of God in them all, spreading the truth abroad, awakening the witness, confounding the deceit, gathering up out of transgression into the life, the covenant of light and peace with God. Let all nations hear the sound by word or writing spare no place, spare no tongue, nor pen; but be obedient to the Lord God; go through the work, and be valiant for the truth upon earth; tread and trample all that is contrary under. Ye have the power, do not abuse it; and strength and presence of the Lord, eye it, and the wisdom; that with it you may all be ordered to the glory of the Lord God. Keep in the dominion, keep in the power over all deceit; tread over them in that which lets you see to the world's end, and the utmost parts of the earth. Reign and rule with Christ, whose sceptre and throne is now set up, whose dominion is over all to the ends of the earth; whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, throne an everlasting throne, kingdom an everlasting kingdom, power above all powers. Therefore this is the word of the Lord God to you all: keep in the wisdom of God, that spreads over all the earth; the wisdom of the creation, that is pure, from above, not destructive. For now shall salvation go out of Zion, to judge the mount of Esau: and now shall the law go forth from Jerusalem, to answer the principle of God in all; to hew down all inventors and inventions. For all the princes of the earth are but as air to the power of the Lord God, which you are in, and have tasted of: therefore live in it, that is the word of the Lord God to you all; and do not abuse it: and keep down and low; and take heed of false joys, that will change.

'Bring all into the worship of God: plow up the fallow ground, thresh and get out the corn; that the seed, the wheat, may be gathered into the barn: that to the begin