DEar Flocks of my heavenly Father, whom he hath visited and chosen out of the world to be his peculiar treasure, whose tears he hath botled up, and whose groans are in remembrance be­fore him, that he cannot withhold from doing you good. Oh ye Faithful and Valiant Ones for his Truth upon Earth! He hath seen, he hath seen your Afflicti­ons, Sufferings and Tryals, and hath weighed them in the ballance, and tempered your Cups, that you may say of the bitterest of them, My God is the Portion of this also. Hath he smitten thy valiant men, and re­moved them hence? What is it for? because of distaste that he hath taken against thee, or, to bring thee (O Sion) to live in his Life that never dies. The former is to be searched into, and according to the disco­very from God therein, the deep sence is to be impres­sed upon thy spirit; that his Will may be done, and his End answered. Shall I take up a Lamentation and say, How are thy mighty men fallen? and how hast thou been tryed (O daughter of Sion) even since thy coming forth from amongst the pots, and since thou hast appeared out of the holes? Though thy dayes be but young, and thy beauty scarce discovered, yet how hast thou been hunted? not only when thou wast in the Wilderness and desert Land; but since thou art on thy way to Canaan, how hath Amalek vexed thee, and the Nations every where been troubled [Page 4]at thee? Art thou born unto it? and must it alwayes be so? Must War still follow War, and new Tempests arise so soon as the Calms appear? What, no time given thee to put on thy beautiful Attire, and to shew thy self forth to the alluring of the Nations? Yes surely, thou shalt have a Day, and thy Glory shall shine, and thy Beauty and Comliness be made manifest, as well as thy Blackness and Deformity. He is but emptying thee from Vessel to Vessel, that thou mayest not taste of thy lees, but that thy words may be as new Wine, to refresh the hearts of the mourners, and as Apples of Gold set in pictures of Silver, to take the eyes of the beholders, that it may be known that thy food is not that which will corrupt, but upon the Tree of Life, whose Leaves shall heal the Nations, and whose Fruit shall not fail, but in every month and change be green. Oh then, why shouldest thou not be content and throughly satisfied with all the dealings of thy God towards thee, and say, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in his sight; he will bring me forth after he hath thorowly purged me, and I shall shine as the Sun in lustre, and triumph after the darkest day and thickest clouds: and then shalt thou see clearly, and understand the end of the Lord, as well in taking away thy mighty men, as all the rest of his dealings towards thee; how that it is not only from the evil to come, but that their blood might cry (now their bo­dies are dead) louder, and more powerful than when they were living: For know (O Sion) to thy comfort, and (O Babylon) unto thy sorrow, that though their Bodies be dead, their Blood speaks, and the spillers thereof shall not escape in the day of the Inquisition of the mighty God: for from this hand thou shalt have [Page 5]Justice, and the Nations shall know it, and be ashamed and confounded for ever. For the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to proclaim Glad-Tydings in thine ears, in the Authority of his Life, and Dominion of his Name, and to tell them that thy Warfare is nigh to be ac­complished, and thy Redemption out of the hands of all thine Enemies hastens, that thou shalt worship and serve thy God in the beauty of Holiness and Land of the Living, when Babylon, with all her Upholders and Adherents, shall not have whereon to lay their heads, or set their feet; but, as she hath dealt to Je­rusalem, so shall it be measured to her again, (The Word of the Lord hath spoken it) Only wait ye, wait ye in the Shepherds Tents with the Flocks of the Compa­nions, and these things you shall see assuredly brought to pass; And the time hastens that he that hath Wisdom shall reade, and he that hath Understanding, shall un­derstand the number 666, and the Name, and the number of the Beast, and of his Name: for it is the number of a man; he that can reckon, let him. The Key to open this Mystery, and to unlock this Secret, is the Brightness of the coming of the Son of Righ­teousness, shining unto the soul, to give the discovery of every motion of the spirit of man, in the things of God, that it may pass no longer for the Spirit of God, but may be ceased from for ever, in praying, in speak­ing, with all the rest of God's Worship and Service; that all may be done by the Spirit of his mouth, who hath the Keys of David; and openeth, and none shutteth, and shutteth, and none openeth: Then shall be read and distinguished the Ministration from the Ministrator, that when he removes, the Ministration may not be [Page 6]adored, but the Lamb followed where-ever he goes: so shall there be no more Sea, but the former things shall be passed away, and a Sea of glass mingled with fire, appear in the room thereof, and the followers of the Lamb standing by it, as with Harps in their hands, and Praise in their mouths, unto the Most High, that lives for ever.

Oh my dear Friends, Brethren and Companions, whom my soul greeteth with these Salutations of Love and good Tydings; what shall I say to you all that may be as Oyl to make your faces shine, and Wine to make your hearts glad in the midst of all your besettings, huntings, and temptations: Your God sees and be­holds, and ponders all your tryals: Leave them all with him, and cast your care wholly upon him; for by all yours not one cubit can be added to the sta­ture. He will bring to pass his Purpose, and your desires. O ye upright in heart, be faithful unto him, and follow those things that make for Peace; and take heed of this present world, that neither its ri­ches, its frowns, its fears, its sufferings, nor its plea­sures may move you out of your Tents; but that the signs of the coming of the Son of man may be alwayes in your eye, lest either the marrying, or giving in mar­riage (spoken of) or the beating of the fellow-servants, do overtake any of you; and then the Kingdom of Heaven be indeed like unto ten Virgins, five wise, and five foolish.

These things are written, not to upbraid any, but to forewarn all, that they stir not out of their Tents, but dwell continually in the lowly mind, preferring one another before themselves; cherishing the good [Page 7]in all, and strengthning the weak hands; dwelling as Saviours upon Mount Sion: For it is easie to judge and condemn, but hard to save; So shall ye be known to be the Children of the most High, and, as Epistles written upon one anothers hearts, seen and read of all men; and the blessed Presence of your Father will be with you, and his Glory will not cease to rest up­on you: which is the desire of my travelling soul for you all, who am