THe Lord is King of the whole Earth, who hath gi­ven all power in Heaven and Earth to the Son, and hath made him Judge of the quick and the dead, and hath committed all Judgement to the Son, and all things is to be done in the Sons Name who hath all power in Heaven and Earth given to him, and that which is to be asked for, is to be asked in the Sons Name: And the Christians were not to do things in the Name of an Earthly King, or Emperour, or Protector, but that which they did, they were to do it in the Name of Christ, who hath all power in Heaven and Earth given to him, who was to subject all Rule and Authority to himself, in whose Name things was to be done. And the Apostles said they was to set up the least in the Church to judge of outward things; so the set­ting up these Kings, and Emperours, and Protectors, and giving them the Names Excellency and Majesty amongst the Christians, hath been since the dayes of the Apostles among the Apostates in the Apostacy from the true Wisdom of God and Life. And so the Pope hath taken the Tenths of peoples Estates to the Church, and he hath taken the Tenths of Tenths; and so the people have been willing in the times of Ignorance (in the Apostacy) to offer it up that they might merit by it (though the Bishops lands was not Tythable.) And so when they had gotten the peoples Tenths, and the Pope the Tenth of Tenths, after a while they claimed it by a Law, by the Authority and higher Powers (so called) which the Pope had invented; and when they did not Pay it, they would take treble of them, or cast into prison, or both. And when the Pope which had the Tenth of Tenths in England was denied, the Kings took Tenth of Tenths, and then they sold the Tythes [Page 6] to the Impropriators, and giving them a Law to take it and treble if they would not give it them. And now people, what is your free Gift come to? which in times of Ignorance and Darkness was given to merit by; and the Heads took it under pretence of merit; and now they have set it up by a Law, and take treble, and cast into prison till death if they will not give it them. So when the Kings that denied the Pope took the Tenth of Tenths, the Popes Wages that was Head of the Church, and when the Kings died, the Protector took Tenth of Tenths, and he was the Head; So thus they have taken away the peoples Estates in the time of their Ignorance; So they have taken that which people did expect to merit by; and they that gives Tenths, gives that which people did expect to merit by giving it to the Church, and they that take Tythes, take that which people did expect to merit by: Now they that took Tythes under the Law before Christ came in the flesh, the Tenth of Tenths, the Chief Magistrate did not go away with it, it was given for Levi and the Priests, the Widows, Strangers, and Fatherless; so the Protestants are not reformed from the Popes maintenance to the Tribe of their black-Coats, nor reformed from their Popish-Houses and Col­ledges by which they make Ministers, and where they teach; them who are reformed cannot pay the Tenths to that they call the Holy Church, and its Ministry, Protestants, nor Papists, for they know they merit nothing by it. And why do ye make a Law that none must speak to the Priests, or ask them a Question going or coming from the Steeple-houses, or in it, and yet make a Law that all must maintain them, all must give them Tythes, and so all must maintain them with Tythes or Easter-Reckonings? Is this equal, and according to Reason? Did not Christ send forth his Teachers like Sheep among Wolves? and he exhorted them to take no thought what they should speak, take no purse, told them they should be brought before Rulers and Magistrates, should be scourged in the Synagogues, had before Counsels, and told them that a Sparrow did not fall to the ground without the will of their Heavenly Father, and that the hairs of their heads were numbered; And the Disciples might have said, We (some of us) have Wives and Children, and thou sends us among Wolves; what will become of our Wives and Children? As our Priests cry now, who dare not go out among Christians now [Page 7] without a bag or yearly Stipend, or Tythes, or both; and Christ sent forth his Disciples amongst Wolves, and they were not to provide, but they were to enquire who were worthy, and into what house they went, what was set before them they were to eat, and when they came back again to Christ, he asked them if they had wanted any thing? and they said, No: So these wanted no­thing that went out among the Wolves and came back again re­joycing to Christ: But these cannot say so, that go out among Christians, for they cast into prison them they do no work for, for their maintenance; but these cryes Wants, wants, to Pro­tector, and Parliaments, and Courts. So this was the Law of Christ, they was not to take care what to speak afore-hand, they was not to provide for the maintenance for the Ministry, nor they were not to take thought what to speak, they were not to study, they were to love Enemies, they were not to hate them as the Jewes did before them; they were not to swear, but they were to keep to Yea and Nay in their Communication, for the Jewes had sworn before them; Now the Priests and Professors are the first-born of the flesh that persecute them that are born of the Spirit, and they that be in the flesh cannot please God; and so them that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer perse­cution, as they do now persecute that lives out of Christ Jesus and talk of his words. And so all the Professors and Teachers in the whole Christendom that are so full of rage, bitterness, and persecution, and have not the humility, they must not have the honour. And so all the Teachers are now made manifest that im­prison, and persecute, and spoyl mens Goods that they do no Work for, to be such as Preach Peace to People while they do put into their mouths, who now prepare War against such as do not put into their mouths, whether he hear them or not hear them; whether he Teacheth them or not Teacheth them; if he put not into their mouths they will prepare war against him. And they that are carnally minded is death, of which death the Devil is the power of, who acts under him as an engagement to the sa­tisfying of his lust, which do persecute Friends, when as if they should do the Will of Christ who destroyes the Devil, they should love their Enemies; but such minding Earthly things are Ene­mies to the Crosse of Christ who serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies; who will serve you if give them [Page 8] Tythes, Augmentations, Gleab-lands, Mortuaries, Easter-reck­onings, Midsummer-dues, but take them away they will not serve you.

FRiends, to all you that desire an Earthly King in England and Scotland and the Dominions belonging to it, who professes your selves to be Christians, whether Presbyterians, which signifies Eldership, or others.

First, Are you not worse then they were in the dayes of Moses? Secondly, are you not as blind as the Jewes was? where did the El­ders of old in the dayes of the Apostles which are now called Pres­byterians, and the true Christians in the dayes of Christ and the Apostles, did they cry up any King but Christ, to have any King to rule over them but Christ? is not He the Head of the Church, hath not he all Power in Heaven and Earth given to him, must not all things bow down to him, and all things that is to be done must be done in his Name, in the Kings Name Christ? And did not the Jewes when Christ was come, who was raised up from among their Brethren, Prophesied of should be a King? did not the Jews and Priests say they had no king but Ce­sar, crucifie Chist the King, they that cried up any other king was no friend of Cesars, So now the true Christians and true Elders cryes up Jesus to be the King the Head, and nothing to be done but in his Name and Power? are not they combined against by the Kings of the Earth, and such as cries up Kings do persecute them? and doth not the Priests & Presbyterians, and many of the Rulers crie for an Earthly King and will have Cesar, and is not this the same nature the Jews was in, and do not they in this crucifie Je­sus to themselves afresh and put him to open shame, and crucifie him in the Saints? is not all these Christians, Presbyterians, such as have the name of Eldership, worse then Samuel and hath not [Page 9] his minde, Samuel 8. And like unto the persecuting Priests, that cried away with Jesus this King, and sayes we will have no King but of our making; are not all these Elders, Christians, that will doat so much of an Earthly King, Traytors against Christ, who hath all power in Heaven and Earth given to him; now Elders if you say Peter said honour the King, & love the brotherhood, and honour all men, this doth not hold forth that Peter bid them set up an Earthly King over them, neither do you read, though there was so many thousands convinced amongst them, that there was an earthly King amongst them, neither do you read that there were any Kings since the dayes of the Apostles but among the Apostate Christians and the false Church the mother of harlots, that reigns over the Kings and Emperors since the dayes of the Apostles, that they have Apostatized; And so since in the false Churches, Antichrists, false Prophets, Beast, Dragons Domi­nion, have they had many Kings, as you may read in the Re­velation since the dayes of the Apostles, but Christ the King, the Bridgroom, the Lamb and his Wife should be known again, and he to rule all Nations with a rod of Iron; And all these An­tichrists and Presbyterians, Imitated Elders, over them all will Christ reigne, and these Kings that have been made; For Christ is King alone, and makes his Disciples Saints, Kings and Priests to reign upon the Earth, that they are all come to be Kings; These are true Christians, and will these have any more Kings among them but Christ, who are redeemed from the Earth and Earthly kings, and lives in Christ, who is the end of the Law, I say that is the false Church, that doth not live in the end of the Law upon the heads of the Kings, yea the end of the true Law the Jews had; And of this Church is Christ the head, much more the end of all mens laws, statutes they have invented, and doth act by their Kings and Councels, but this hath been but a­mong such that have the Prophets, Christ and the Apostles words, the sheeps cloathing, but out of the life and power, that makes such work for an Earthly King and Earthly Powers, and will change as they change, these all quench the Spirit of God in themselves, they vex it and grieve it, these all deny the Light which Christ Jesus the King of Righteousness and the Prince of Peace that doth enlighten every one that cometh into the World withall, that with the Light they might see him, Christ the [Page 10] King and know his Power to reign, but they that hate the Light, which he hath enlightened them withall, will not have him to rule over them, neither professors nor Priests, Christ the King, but such an one as Cesar is, and away with the Light, so will not have him to reign, away with the Light within, crucifie it, and prison them that confesseth it, whereby every one might see the Lord, but its that which shall make every tongue confesse to the Glory of God at the last, and so we deny all them to be true Christians, true Presbyterians and Elders that deny Christ to be their King, but the Whore and false Church and of the Beast, Antichrists and in the Dragons power, which doeth not cry up Christ to be the only King, who hath all power in Heaven and Earth given to him, who is the head of the Church; & they that be true Elders true Presbyterians, which signifies Elders, they never go about to set up any Earthly King over them to rule them, for they live in Christ, and Christ is their King, and they are Kings, who is in the midst of them, who is King of kings, and Lord of Lords; so in the world there is Kings many, and Lords many, but to us there is but one Lord and one King, who are redeem­ed out of the Earthly before the World began, and own the true Eldership; Herod the king was mad at the Childe Jesus, he sought to slay all the children in Bethlehem of Judea, there is the fruits of Earthly Kings, and such a king would our false Christi­ans & Elders have to help to kill the birth, the babes that be born of the Immortall seed, & to persecute Jesus where he is brought forth, and the Jews in the Spirit of whom Christ is King; the outward Christians and outward Jewes they will have Cesar and no king but Cesar, and crucifie Jesus, away with this man, he shall not reign over us, but we will have such a king as Cesar was that will not have Christ to reign.

And thus the Kings of the Earth band themselves, and the Princes are assembled together against the Lord and his Christ, Let us break their bands a sunder and cast their cords from us, He that dwell in the Heavens shall laugh them to scorn, the Lord shall have them in derision, the Lord shall speak to them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure, saying to these Kings and Princes, I have set my King upon Sion my holy mountain, Psal. 2. Melchesedeck king of Salem Prince of Peace, before the Law he was a figure of Christ, The King, the Prince of Life that [Page 11] ends the Law, and destroys the devil the author of strife and wars and ungodliness and unrighteousness, John 14. And destroyes death and the devil, and the Power of it and the darkness, he is the Prince of Life and the King that hath all power in Heaven and Earth, that destroys the devil and his power; And the kings of Edom Esaus stock, which the children of Israel when they grew they would have kings like other Nations, Psal, 48. That when people was gone from the Lord God who is the King of the whole Earth the Law giver, then they set up kings, and when the children of Israel served not the Lord God but went after other gods, after the Lord had brought them out of Egypt, who was their King, then they desired a king which the Lord gave them in his wrath, that asked him, Sam. 8. And Samuel said in this manner should a king reign over them, the king shall take your sons and appoint them his chariots and to be his horse-men, and some of them shall run before his chariots, is not this so, he will make of them Captains over thousands, and over fifties, and to ear the kings ground and to reap his harvest, and to make Instruments of War, and things for his chariots, he will take of your daughters and make of them Cooks, Apothecaries and Bakers, this is the fruit of your kings, and not Christ the King among the Christians, the king will take your fields, your vineyards, your best Olive-trees and give them to his servants, & this is the fruit of your kings, and not of Christ the King; The king will take your man-servants, & maid-servants, the chief of your young-men, your Asses & put them to work, & the tenth of your sheep, and you shall be his servants, and this is the fruits of the Kings of the Earth and not the fruit of Christ the King; And you shall cry out because of the King whom you have chosen, & the Lord wil not hear you at that day, and hath not this been witnessed in England and Christendome; Ignorant and foolish People that would have a king, and kings since the dayes of the Apostles, and have put out Christ and would not have him reign, and the People will not hear when all these fruits of these kings are laid down to them, they Christians as the Jews would not hear Samuel, nay but sayes Jews & Christi­ans and false Elders, but there shall be a King over us, and we also will be like other Nations, & our King also shall judge us, and our King also shall go before us and fight our battells, and so they went out from the Lord of Hosts the King, the God of the whole [Page 12] Earth, so the Christians goes out from Christ, and set up Kings like Heathens, Hosea, 13.11. Therefore saith the Lord make them a king, he gave them a King in his anger and took him away in his wrath, therefore saith the Lord I will be thy King, where is there any other that can save them in all thy Cities & thy Judges of whom thou said give me a King and a Prince; Now you Igno­rant and foolish, that is looking after Kings, which turns from the Lord and Christ his Son, Isa. 84. for the Kings of the Earth were gathered together and Nations raged, the Kingdoms were moved, Oh Lord of Hosts my King and my God, Thou art my King O God, send help unto Jacob, hearken O daughter and consider, incline thine Eare, forget also thy People and thy Fathers house, so shall the King have pleasure in thy beauty, for he is thy Lord and rever­ence thou him; the Kings daughters are among the honourable women that are maried, read the mariage, Psal. 45. The Lord will cut off the Spirit of Princes, Mark, and he is terrible to the Kings of the Earth, they band themselves and the Princes assem­ble themselves against Christ; surely the rage of men shall turn to thy praise, the tyranny of the rage shalt thou restraine, even the Lord is my King of old working salvation in the midst of the Earth, dividing the Sea by his Power who breaks the head of the Dragon in the Waters, and gave meat to his People in the Wilderness, who is the King of Glory, the Lord strong and mighty in battel, even the Lord strong and Mighty, lift up your heads you Gates, and come from the Kings of the Earth, and lift up your selves you everlasting doors and let the King of Glory come in; you may say who is the King of Glory? the Lord of Hosts is this King of Glory; who is this King of Glo­ry? The Lord of Hosts is the King of Glory, and this is to you Christians that would have another king but the Lord of Hosts and Jesus Christ, Psal. 24. And you may see what work there was with the kings of Edom, of Esau, before the king reigned over the Children of Israel; And then when the Children of Israel grew into Esaus nature they would have a king, when they were turned from the Lord, so the Antichrists that turns against Christ, they will have a king but not Christ, as other Heathenish Nations would have, they will fight else, and this is Esaus nature that beareth the Sword; And hath it not been now as in Abime­lech dayes, usurping for Kingdoms among the Antichrists, usur­ping Kingdoms for themselves, and not that Christ should reign [Page 13] whose right it is, the kingdoms are the Lords, Judg. 9. Now David and Solomon there is figures in their being kings, and see what work the kings of the Medianites did; And the Children of Israels kings who said, thou art our king, reign over us, both thou and thy sons, and thy sons sons, & deliver thou us out of the hands of the Medianites; So minde now here when these like our doting Christians would have a king, Gideon told them he would not reign over them, but saith he the Lord shall reign over you, so he shall be king, Judg. 8. There you may see how Gideon kept down spirits that would be lifted up, & read what work the Chil­dren of Israel made when they were as Judges in the fear of the Lord, with the kings of the Earth, the kings of Canaan; and God said that they should be his People, in the twentieth of Exodus, but when the Children of Israel did wickedly, then the Lord sold them into the hand of the king of Canaan, then the wicked nature came over them, and when they were settled in ease & fulness & turned from the Lord, then they would have kings over them as other Nations had; And again you may see the Children of Israel did wickedly in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord God who was their King and served Balaam, so the Lords wrath was kindled against them, and the Lord sold them into the hands of Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia, Judg. 3.8. So now when the Christians have gone from Christ the King, then have they been sold under other kings, and then after a time have they set up kings among themselves, you may see what work the Children of Israel had with Sihon the king of the Amorites, and Sihon king of Heshbon, and strange kings of Ba­shan, Joshua, 13.

And you may see in the twelfth of Joshua what work he made with the kings, who had trusted in God, whose King was the Lord, and how God had heardened the hearts of the kings and the People, that they might bee destroyed by them that had no king, the Children of Israel, and were no outward kings made of men, how they overthrew the kings when they kept faithfull to the Lord God of Heaven and Earth, Joshua 11. And how the Lord God fought for Israel, and what work Joshua made with the kings, how he brought them out of the Cave, a fit place for them, for all the kings that is made in mens earthly wills that will not have Christ to reign, the Rocks and Caves is their holes, [Page 14] and their shelter in time of distress, and not Christ, and you may see what a fear and dread was in all Nations and people, while the Children of Israel went on in the Name of the Lord, and so it will be again when a people goes on in the name of Christ, what a dread they will be in all Christendom, to all the Kings, and all such upon the Earth who are Kings and Princes, made but not by Christ, for all the True Redeemed ones are Kings and Priests, that reign upon the Earth, that knew their Election before the World began, Johs. 9.

And the Children of Israel which the Lord led forty years, who told them, they should eat no Bread, nor drink Wine, nor strong drink, that they might know that he was the Lord their God; Then you may read how he slew strong Kings of Bashan, and Sihon King of Heshbon; Now these great cryers up for Kings, how they eat, drink Wine and so be drunk, and run without either fear or wit, and many in Christendom I believe is well acquainted with this King-ship, and the makers of them, and the cryers of them up, how they will be Drunk and Gluttenous themselves, and such are more like to have a King over them like themselves, then Christ; and such are not like the True Jews, nor the True Chri­stians in the dayes of the Apostles, they are like the Back-sliding Children of Israel, and back-sliding Christians that know not the Lord and Christ to be King over the whole Earth, and God hath set Christ to be a King upon his Holy Hill, who would have a King to come to him, under his Government, and all the earthly Kings made by the earthly minds and will of men sits upon the unholy hill, and not Sion. Well, all you that would have a King, not Christ that is set upon the Holy Hill, the Lord who is King of the whole Earth shall bring thee and thy King that thou hast set over thee unto a Nation that neither thou nor thy Fathers have known, and these serve other Gods, Wood and Stone, as the Christians have done their Priests and Steeple-houses, hous­es which they call their Church, when the Church is in God, and all other Ceremonies which God never commanded; And the Lord shall smite thy knees and thighs with sore botches from the Crown of the head to the sole of the Foot, that thou cannot be healed, and thou shalt be a wonder and a Proverb, and the com­mon talk among all people, Thou shalt plant a vineyard and dress it, but shall neither drink of the Wine nor the Grapes, the worms shall eat [Page 15] them; Thou shalt have Olive Trees but shall not annoint thy self, for they shall fall, thou shalt beget Sons and Daughters, and they shall go Captive, so that thou shalt be mad for the sight thou shalt see, and here is the fruit, and much more in the same Chapter, of such as transgresse the Law of God, and the command of God, and the Fruits of their Kings, Deut. 28. and the 2. of Deut. there you may see how the Lord spoke unto the Children of Is­rael, and they had no King, how they conquered and said, I have given into your hands Sihon King of the Amorites, and the King of Heshbon, and this day I will send my fear and dread upon all people, and then you may see in the third chapter how the word of the Lord was fulfilled; How they went over the Kings and smote them in the Power of the Lord God; and then you may see again when the Children of Israel got a King which went from the Lord, how he by his wickednesse led many into captivity to be slain; And when the Children of Israel had slain Sihon King of the Amorites and Ogg King of Bashan, Moses began to declare this Law to them, saying to them as followeth, as you may read in the first of Deut. And as the Children of Israel dwelt in the fear of God, the Kings fled before them and departed, as King Herod the Cannanite, so will they do before all them that live in the Power of God, & comes to Christ the alone King who hath all power in Heaven and Earth given to him, and to the spiritual Jews state, as the Heathen did before the outward Jews, while they lived in the power of God, and Jacobs King is higher then Agag, & the shout of a King was among the Children of Israel, while they felt the Lord of Hosts was among them, they trode down the Earthly Kings and inventions, and lived in the Law of God which Christ is the end of, and doth fulfil, the King of Righteousnesse, Num. 24. And you may read the madnesse of the Kings of Edom against the Children of Israel; If your eyes be open you may see something in it, and then you may read in your selves, with your King and your hard-heartedness, who will not let the Spiritual Jews pass through the dominions to their own Land; who follow their own King the Lamb, and all these novices christians that are crying up Earthly Kings, and following Kings, and fighting for the Kings of the Earth, are not such as follow the Lamb, Moses saith, I know that the King of Aegypt will not let the Children of Israel go but by a strong hand, for the Children of Israel had been oppressed by a [Page 16] new King in Aegypt who knew not Joseph, and the more they op­pressed them the more they grew, the outward Jews whom the Lord was their King, and brought them out of Aegypt, so the Lord and Christ is the King that brings the Spiritual Jews out of Aegypt, and we know that these Kings are the Spiritual Aegyptians, got up since the dayes of the Apostles, it will be hard with you to let the Spiritual Jews go, for they hold fast, but of all their Jewels must they be robbed, and their first born slain before the Spiritual Jews come out, the outward Jews and outward Christi­ans may make a God of their Jewels; so here hath risen new Kings since the dayes of the Apostles that hath not known Christ, whereby the Spiritual Jews hath been sore oppressed, but the more they do oppresse them, the more they grow, they creep out; so the Spiritual King Pharaoh must be overthrown in the Sea of the World, and over them shall the Spiritual arise, and reign, and sing, who is come to Christ the King who sitteth upon the Holy Hill; And Abimelech the King took Sarah Abrahams wife, and there is the fruits of most earthly Kings houses, whom the Lord spoke to and warned, whom Abraham and Sarah came over; the Edo­mites revolted from under the Dominion of Judah, and made themselves a King, which was a prophane people, which may be read in this age, and since the dayes of the Apostles, how people have revolted from Christ, of the tribe of Judah, and made them­selves Kings, & the madnesse of Jeroboam when he was risen up to the Kingdom of his Father, strengthened himself, & slew all his bre­thren with the Sword like the Kings of the Christians, that hath ri­sen up since Christ, stretching out their Swords and slaying their Brethren, instead of loving; so are both contrary to Christ and the Apostles, Christ the King, and the Apostles his servants: So read the Plagues in 2 Chron. 21. upon Jeroboam; and in the Reve­lations read the Plagues upon the Beast and the false Prophet; and Jehoshaphat who was a King in the time of the Law, Christ who endeth the Prophets and the Law is the King, who puts down all Principalities, and Powers, and Thrones, and subjects all things to himself; and the Kings are for the defence of outward Cities, and puts in a defence for outward Cities against Enemies; but Christ the King saith, Love them, that destroyes that which caus­eth the Enmity among people, whereby there comes love and Peace from him who is the Covenant of Love and Peace; when [Page 17] Jeroboam reigned over Israel, and Abijah reigned over Judah, so here they had got two to Reign over them; and Jeroboam ga­thered together the vain men, the Children of Balaam; but Judah got the Victory in the time of the Figure; and so will Christ who is the Substance over all such Kings as Jeroboam, who gathers the vain men together; Jeroboam made Abijah Chief to be Ruler among his Brethren, for he thought to make him King, and he desired many Wives, which is the fruit of Earthly Kings and their Courts; King Solomon would not let the Daughter of Pharaoh live in the holy place, where the Ark of God was to come, but he built her a House; no more doth these Daughters of spi­ritual Pharoah come into the holy place, but they must be born a­gain before they come into the Kingdom; and so all the Daugh­ters of spiritual Pharoah hath their place, hath their house made, and all these earthly Kings brings the Daughters of spiritual Pharoah into that they call their holy place; the King of Ti­ron sends to Solomon because the Lord hath loved his Peo­ple he hath made thee king over them, who hath given to David the king a wise Son, therefore Solomon asked of God Wisdom and knowledge, that he might Judge the People; for thou hast made me king over a People like the dust, who hath shewed mer­cy unto David my Father, and hath made me reign in his stead, but now Christ is come a greater then Solomon, who is to be heard, and every one that will not hear him is to be cut off from the People, Him that David called Lord; so these kings ends, their time must have an end, but Christ reigns for ever, who is the Beginning and the Ending. Nebuchadnezer king of Babylon came and besieged Jerusalem, and caried away all Jerusalem cap­tive; and here is the work of the King of Babylon, so since the dayes of the Apostles, the Mystery of Babylon hath reigned and ruled, and Antichrist hath got up, so the Church hath been in the Wildernesse; the inward Jewes hath been captivated, but now is Christ risen who is the king of the Jews, who slayes Antichrist and the Beast and his power, and confounds Babylon, and that which hath been led captive must go into captivity, and the Lord Jesus will reign though the kings of the Earth shall gather themselves against him, yea he shall slay with the Sword and kill with the Sword which are the Words of his Mouth, & so this Mystery of Babylon that which hath destroyed People from the [Page 18] good things, Josiah such as feared the Lord in the time of the Law and the Prophets, the Lord excepted, which kings was among the Jews, but you never read of any among the Christi­ans, (but among the Apostates, since the dayes of the Apostles, but Jesus Christ the only king, which is the end of the Law, and the end of the Prophets, and will overthrow all the Apo­states, who will reign himself, Solomon and David, and others which was anointed kings, was figures of Christ the Anoint­ed, who is the King that ends the Ordinances, Statutes and Commandements, and the Law that the kings in the figure act­ed by, which king the Christians witnessed among the A­postles, and all Kings and Emperors, and Popes, which came up in the night, in the Dragons, Beasts, Mother of Harlots power which has kild the Martyrs, Prophets, Saints, and wit­nesses, which has persecuted the True Church, the Woman which fled into the Wildernesse, and the Man Childe that was caught up to God, but now is come to Rule all Nations with a Rod of Iron.

1. YOu shall swear in Truth and Righteousnesse, you shall perform your Vowes to the Lord, this was spo­ken to the Jews, never to the Christians, as you may read.

2. You ought to pay Tithe Minte, Annis, and Cummin, Christ spoke that to the Jews, and not to the Christians.

3. Cursed be the Deceiver, he that brought not in his Tithes into the Store-house; this was spoken to the Jews, and never to the Christians, for the Christians own Christ that ended the Oathes, the Law, the Priest-hood and the Tithes.

4. Ought not my House to be made a House of Prayer saith Christ, which you have made a Den of Theeves, to the Jews, to the Pharisees, and not the Christians he spake thus. And So­lomon built the Temple called the House of Prayer for the Jews, and Stephen and the Christians denyed it, and Christ said, not one Stone should be left upon another, And Paul denyed it, [Page 19] and said, their bodyes should be made the Temples of the Holy Ghost.

5. And it is said the Priests lips should preserve the Peoples knowledge; this was spoken to the Jews, and never to the Chri­stians, for Christ is the end of the Priest-hood and the Law, in whom are hid the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge, of whom the Christians do learn that be true Christians.

6. Ezra the Scribe built a Pulpit, and set it up by the water gate in the Street, not in the Temple or Synagogues, and this was done among the Jews, not among the Christians who read the Law among them, for the Christians came to Christ the end of the Law, Nehe. 8. And whether your Pulpit be like Ez­ra's that was in the street neer the water gate, that fourteen men stood upon it.

7. And the cry is Solomon built a Temple, built the Temple yea for the Jews but not for the Christians, for their Bodies are the Temples of God. The Apostle went into the Temple and into the Synagogues, but not as that they had built them for that purpose, but went in among the Iews to Preach Christ, and to bring them off of those things whose was the Synagogue and Temple, and to Preach Christ, and bring them to him who was before Temple or Synagogues either.

OH how have you dishonoured the Truth, Oh how have you dishonoured the Name of God, Oh how have you made the Gospel chargeable? Oh how have you lost your Glory, your Glory is made void? Oh how have ye dispised the Crosse of Christ, and gloried in your shame, and served not the Lord Jesus Christ, but your own bellies? Oh how long have you made a trade of the Prophets, Apostles and Saints words, which ma­ny suffer that be in the life by you, and stockt, whipt, banish­ed, imprisoned? Oh how have you made a trade of these words, and whipt, and persecuted, and prisoned, scoft and mockt, and reproached the elect of God, the Saints, such as be in the Spirit of God that gave forth Scriptures? Oh ye professors, [Page 20] professing Magistrates, and Teachers, where is Truth now to be found, in your Goales, in your houses of correction, in your stocks? theres the place now for People to look for Truth, for the Ministers of unrighteousness that serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies, that teach for filthy lucre, and the professing Magistrates that they ride upon, will let Truth have no place among them, accept it be in their Goales, houses of correction, stocks, or prisons? Oh shameless men! What ha­vock have you made of the Saints goods, what spoyling of them? but now Iobs patience comes to be known; what wolves do you appear in sheeps cloathing, ravening, Worrying, Tearing in whole Families, such as ye do no work for, a right Wolfe, Let the Goales, the Prisous in your Counties make them manifest, yet do you pretend to teach people, to keep Lectures up and down to blind People, to blind the Country, think you not that they see you; that if the Countrey people did not put into your mouthes, and the Magistrates give you maintenance and dinners at your Lectures, that you would be a company of dumb sheep­herds, a company like them that Isaiah spake of, will you bark without they give you augmentations, your Easter-reckonings, Tithe-piggs and Geese, and Hay, &c. And Gleab-lands? nay will you sing without money, Pray without money? You make trades of the Saints words, Prophets words, by the hour-glasse, that is your measure, and when the glasse is run, time is spent neighbours, is it not the light make all these things manifest, and the day come that you cannot be hid, & that all your preaching and all your fair words, and fair speeches, your actions make you to stink in the Countrey, plundering people you do no work for, as bad as ever the Caviliers or rather worse, for they did but take their goods away, & you pretend for a worship, and cast into prison besides; you be them that serve not the Lord Jesus Christ but your own bellies, for if you served Christ, he would teach you no such Doctrine, no such Practices; Therefore O ye wells without water, Clouds without raine, ye wandering Stars, for whom is reserved the blakness of darknesse; the spoyling of the Saints goods, the casting men into prison can not seperate them from the Lord Jesus Christ, nor the powers, nor the principalities, nor all the Ministers of unrighteousnesse that robs for their bellies, and plunders and steales and takes of [Page 21] them that hears them not? Oh wo and misery is your condi­tion and lamentable is your state! Ye shall come to wish it had been better ye had never been born, and ye had better a lived without this making a spoyl of the people of Gods goods, for it will sink you all; was not the Pope the first author of Goals and prisons, he your example, was not he the first author of Tythes, Easter-reckenings, and Midsummer-dues, he the first author of making a trade of the Scriptures, and killing the Saints, and making a trade of their words; But the Lord God is come, who will be avenged of you; O ye shepherds! howling must come among you, and principal of the flock, you have made a prey on the people, ye divine to them for money, ye have taught them for filthy lucre, ye have born rule among them for meanes, ye preach to them while they put into your mouthes, ye preach to them for the fleece, in the cloudy dark day, night of Apostacy since the Apostles dayes; your tents are wicked, your habitation is darknesse, the fruits appears, the Goales may witnesse, your vineyards are wildernesses, lye like a wildernesse, a howling wildernesse, your trees are corrupt, your bottles are full of the old Wine, which burst with the new; your candle is put out, therefore you cannot believe in the light that enlightens every man that cometh into the World, your darkness cannot comprehend it, the day of many of your visitations will be over, the Sun over you set, and you shall be confounded, and your wisdom shall be turned backward, and you cannot deceive people much longer; your folly is made manifest, you make it manifest to all men; and your cruelty, your unmercifulnesse, your hard heartednesse, your spoyling the Saints goods, who quite live without the fear of God, as if you had never heard talk of God, the Church, Prophets, Apostles or Christ Jesus the Son of God, for they are not your examples, but such as be out of Truth: Therefore such as Teach for fil­thy lucre, for the fleece, for the means, for the gaine from their quarter, that divine for money, such never served the People of God, but the People of God cryed against, that lived in his fear; But they served covetous, and they served perse­cutors and earthly minded ones, that lives in transgression out of the power of God? Therefore you that feel after the Lord God, come out from among them, least you be partakers of their [Page 22] plagues, for now their feigned humilitie, selfe-righteousnesse, will-worship will not serve their own turns, their will preach­ing, their will professing Saints words, which came not by the will of man, which they preach for their earthly ends, which was not the practice of them that was in the will of God; but freely they had received freely they gave, such served the Lord Jesus Christ, but such as served not the Lord Jesus Christ preached for filthy lucre the Saints words, that was coveteous, but such as served Christ received freely, spake freely, taught freely. Therefore all you blinde guides, ye blinde leaders, ye blinde watchmen, whose deeds are not wrought in God, who hate the light and will not come to it because your deeds be evil, and love the darkness rather then the light, whose works of dark­nesse break open, and cannot be hid, who would keep all peo­ple from the light, and hate it as your selves do, and so to keep them blind that they should not see, like the Pharisees, shut up the Kingdom of Heaven from men, would not go in them­selves nor suffer others, and so would keep people from the light which Christ have enlightened them withall, that they should not see your deeds; but that is your condemnation that hate it, and love the darknesse rather, and will not come to it be­cause it will reprove them; In that the Saints walk over your heads, which condemn you in that they have unity in the light which brings to the day, by which all the Saints be made manifest and seen, Praises & Glory to the Lord God for ever, in which the Saints have Unity and can sing Halilujah, the Lord Omnipotent reigns; away with all your formal preaching, singing, formal sprinkling, and Sacraments, away with your luke-warmnesse, professors and Teachers, who have long served God and Christ with your lips, but your hearts far from him; away with the traditions of men and rudements of the World, and commandments and Doctrines of men; away with your worldly Church, old Mass houses, the Church is in God, (Thes. 1.) Away with your singing, and preaching, and praying for money by the hour-glasse; Away with your feigned humilitie, will-worship, hypo­criticall speaking and teaching; The Lord Gods indignation is kindled against you, all professors and Teachers of the Saints, Prophets, Apostles and Sons words, out of the life found, that will prison to death for your bellies; Is this the end of your Re­ligion? [Page 23] Is this the end of your profession, Church and Mini­strie? Do it all end for that which is for the mouth and your bellies? And will not let Truth live amongst you, but in your Goals, would you root the name of the Saints out of the Earth, and not let an example live among you that follow the Apostles & Christ Jesus Doctrine? But Truth is risen which comprehends the World, and was before it was, which all the Devils instruments and he cannot get down, but destroyes him and his works.

ALL you Powers of the Earth, is not this enough to con­vince you, the hardest hearted of you all, to see the suffer­ings of the People of God under your Authority, and your Priests that does no work for them, their patient suffering till death imprisonment, because they will not pay the Priests Tythes, and because they will not swear, and will not trans­gresse the Lord Jesus Christs commands, their goods spoyled, they come against with Clubs, with Swords, the Priests Bailiffes driving away their cattel and goods, taking away so much as their Plow-geare, whereby many Families are almost ruined, and this they patiently suffer; and so the Priests say the Higher power granted them treble damage; and the Higher power cast them into prison because they will not swear to their an­swers: Mark and consider, you are them that bear all, the Saints sufferings will fall upon you; For the Priests cry you give them power to take treble damage, and then they take treble and treble, so then they cry it is the Law that give them treble and treble from them they do no work for, nor never heard them; Is not this unreasonable, would you that be in the Authority be served so your selves? How many hundreds and thousands have been prisoned, and fined in this Nation, and their goods spoyled, and many imprisoned to death, and never lift up a hand against any, and never found in plots nor contrivances against this power that prisoned them, but under it [Page 24] suffer patiently; Now if this be not enough to convince you, what will? And your hearts are hardened, words will not, but now it must be the sufferings of the Just; did ever Lambes, or Sheep make such havock of beasts as the Priests and Powers, the bad Magistrates have made of the people of God in this age? did ever any of the people of God lift up a hand against any man, Or any of them that you in scorn call Quakers, that you will scarce let have any room on the Earth? But in stocks, Prisons, Cages or Goales, or Houses of correction, and yet spoyl their goods, and make havock of them? Have ye Taxes? have ye Excise? Have ye means for your poor? Priests take five or six times value of what he claimes, and his Church-war­den, and his Clark that say Amen, they will cast into prison; And the Priest will cast into prison such as he do no work for; Church-wardens make havock of the goods, and spoyl to main­tain the old Masse-houses, and yet their Teachers must not be spoken to neither going or coming, nor at the Steeple-house, but five pound or six moneths imprisonment; And must not have a question asked him but at this deare rate; Is not this heavier & worse then Queen Mary? For they might speak when the Priest had done; Is not your finger heavier then the Papists? And why is it that you suffer the Saints goods to be spoyled, their houses to be torn to pieces, their windows to be broken where they meet together; And why is it you suffer their goods to be straind, for going to meetings the first day of the week, not giving them again? And why is it you suffer your rude people to knock down friends in High-wayes, and Gates, stone them at their meetings, and rend and tear their cloathes off their backs, and yet they patiently suffer it? And pay Taxes to maintaine Authority; their meetings broke up, heads broken, cloathes rent off their backs, squibs of fire thrown at them at their meetings; Mans dung thrown among them, at the faces of them rotten eggs; Windows all tatterd to pieces by Priests people, and many fined because they will not go to the Steeple-house, and many fined for going to the Steeple-house; And is not unmercifulnesse the cloake of People, the Covering and folly and madnesse and blinde zeal; Is this like unto the sheeps doings, these actions before mentioned, and Lambs like unto the flock of Christ, as you name your selves [Page 25] to be? Why do you force people to swear, when Christ saith sware not at all? Why will you be Antichrist against Christ, and persecute them that will do truth at yea and nay, accord­ing to Christs Teaching? Why will you persecute People, and prison them for not paying to the Clarks for their saying Amen, and turning the hour-glasse, and hanging the Pulpit, & such like service? And why do you persecute people for not mending the old mass-houses, who for conscience sake cannot mend the the old Mass-houses, and set up Pictures and Images, as ye may see in London, in that called St. Sweetings, and most places? Why do you persecute People for not paying Tythes to the Jesuites tribe of black coats, when Christ said, freely ye have received freely give? Why will you set up a maintenance opposite to Christ, to oppresse people, and tollerate the takers of it under the name of Christs Ministers? Why will you perse­cute people for crying repentance through your streets, and warn­ing people to forsake sin and unrighteousness, and ungodliness, and deceitfull Merchandize? Why will you whip and stock such? And why do you persecute such as Rogues and sturdy Beggers, and whip them that fear God, that are moved to go to visit their friends, or about their occasions travelling, though they be men worth fourty or fifty or eighty pound a year? Is not this a bad savour & a stink? Why will you persecute people for conscience sake that obey the Law of God, and cannot re­spect mens persons? Why have you a custom to compel peo­gle to respect persons and commit sin, contrary to the Law of God, and is it not an evil custome? Or else Fourty pound fine if they will not respect persons, or Fourty Mark or more or lesse, and is not this a shame to persecute people to death, because they will not maintain your Ministry, as if you were not able to main­taine your Ministry your selves? Is not this to your shame & dishonour of Nobility? And is it not a shame & dishonour like­wise to Nobility to persecute, spoyl goods, such as will not main­taine your Clerks and mend your house which you meet in, and do not this shew a bad spirit and not the honourable? Why do you let the Popes crosse stand on all your Ships, your Seals and Mases, your weights and measures, your Flags Arms and Scut­chons? Therefore let all those that take the name upon them of a Minister of Christ, let them not be such as will plunder and [Page 26] spoyl and make havock of peoples goods they do no work for; but first let them plant before they eat, get a flock and then milk, thresh and plow, and not such as covets mens silver and gold and apparel, and teach for filthy lucre, and are the strik­ers, wrestlers with flesh and blood; Is not all this prison­ing and whipping about Religion, Church & Ministrie, and wor­ship got up among you since the dayes of the Apostles? Is it not time now to awake out of this murderous power, into the pow­er of Christ Jesus, and to come to the Lord of Life, and Christ the Wisdom of God which is pure and gentle Lamb-like, that save mens lives, not that which destroyes them; And why do you persecute about dayes, and prison and strain goods, and the Apostle said do not judge one another about such things, the Kingdom of Heaven do not stand in meats nor drinks, nor days, but in Righteousnesse and joy in the Holy Ghost, and in power; who is come to Christ is come to the Lord of the Sabboth; And why do you hate and prison to death and spoyl goods for the Priests, that do no work for them he spoyl? Christ, do not he say love Enemies, why do you hate and persecute to death? Did Christ say one Christian should do so to another? And is this the power of Christ, the Minde of Christ, that you should prison to death for Priests maintenance, and for not swearing Fine, And that you should prison and strain the goods of people that travel to meetings the first day, is it such as break the Sab­bath? Is this Christ minde? Answer and consider, is this Christs mind that you should imprison and spoyl the goods of such that will not pay Clerks wages for turning the hour-glasse, and such like, and laying the Priest a cushon, and for not mending the old Mass-house, which they call a Temple; Is this Christs minde that these things should be held up? And is it Christs minde now that people should be fined and imprisoned for cry­ing repentance up and down, to warn people to turn from sin and evil, is it Christs minde that people should be fined and im­prisoned because they will not swear, and fined and imprisoned because they will not doff their hats, and respect persons, and transgresse the law of God, who have given you this liberty in all these things? Whose minde have this been? Are these the na­ture of sheep to come with hills and Swords, and staves and clubs, & strain the peoples goods for a man that do no work for them? Was not this Iudas way that thief that carried the bag? [Page 27] and is not this the Priests way? Is this the work of the Ministers of Christ that covet no mans Gold nor silver nor appartel, that did not teach for filthy Lucre, will you say that these do not teach for filthy Lucre, that strains the goods of them they do no work for, and prison to death; yet must not these be called Lucre Teachers? And why do you scorn and mock at them that tremble at the word of God, and make a mock of them? Surely your selves is not come to the trembling of Devils, to have him cast out of you, which you must before you come to know the earth shaken wch he compasseth; And why did you put out such as fear God and tremble at the word of God out of the Army, which might have been a blessing to the Lord God in their gene­ration, and for preserving peace and quietness among you? Why did you put out all such Justices as fear the Lord God, that was for the stopping of the vulgar people the Priests rude multi­tude, who knock down in High-ways, that murder in the Stee­ple-houses, that tear, rend Cloathes in pieces, break windows, tear the hair off of mens heads, scoff, mock, stone through streets? Is it not just with the Lord God to vex you, to bring troubles among your selves? Why are you not come to equity? They that will have a hireling let them pay them, and not for other to be compeld to maintaine them, as are taught of God; Did not the Prophets in all ages, and the Apostles testifie against them that taught for filthy Lucre, and the love of mony, coveted mens silver, Gold and apparel, and were strikers, lovers of pleasures, and are these the only men must fit you now, and please you? Did not the Prophets cry against such as did bear rule by their means, and say it was a horrible filthy thing committed in the Land, and such as taught for the fleece, and seek for it, and make a prey upon the people, and such as taught for their gain from their quarter, as were called greedy dumb dogs that could never have enough (Isaiah 56,) And are these the only men must fit you now, and your people, that will spoyl the goods so of the people of God (the Saints) that they do no work for, and the Children of God that be taught of God, and follow Christ Jesus; And shall they be your only Teachers that Divine to you for Money, that preach to you for hire, that will preach peace to you while you put into their mouthes, if not prepare war against, and be them that have been the bringers of the Nati­on [Page 28] into Ruin, and yet is your eyes closed up, you cannot see; Do not Micha tell the heads of Jerusalem and of Israel, that their Judges did Judge for rewards, their Prophets Divine for money, their Priests did teach for hire, was not this the message of Micha to the Heads, and did not the Heads allow of these things, their Authority, & was it not contrary to the Power of God, & did not Micha say that they should be all brought on Heaps, and their High places of worship like a forest; And shall these be such now that must please you that Christ cryed wo against, such as stand praying in the Synagogues, love salutations in the Markets in their long Robes, in uppermost Rooms at Feasts, which Christ cryed wo against? Are these now they that must fit the People? Usurpers of Authority, of a Ministry made of men without that of God; For where do you read of Master Paul or Master James, &c. Or who are the men that must fit the Nati­on now, but such as the Prophets, Apostles and Christ witnesse against, and the Spirit of the Lord could never bear, which cor­rupt the Earth, who is gone on in Cains way; Did Cain kill A­bel his brother about sacrificing, about his worship and Religion, and what have the Apostate Christians since the Apostles dayes kild his brother Christian about Sacrifice and Religion, have not this been the false Church, the great City, the Sacrificer? thats Cain that built a City that kil'd his Brother Abel, and what have you kil'd your Brother Christian, Cain kil'd his Bro­ther; False Church since the true Church went into the Wilder­nesse, is not Cain a vagabond, and did not the Apostle tell you that you should not go on in Cains way, but you should love one another, love is lost, should you not love Enemies, and now poor Cain canst thou bear thy punishment, is not thy punishment greater then thou canst bear? have thou kil'd thy Brother a­bout Religion, worship, Sacrifice, and because he would not put into thy mouth, give thee maintenance, give thee means; nay because he would not sware, and break Christs command, prison to Death; Is this true Christianity? And the fruits of sheep, of Lambs, and the work in the Wisdom of God, these things fall heavie upon you; And do not the Steeple-houses in this Nation, and the High-wayes, and the Courts, and Goales and houses of Correction, & Towns which are sparkled with the blood of the Innocent satisfie you and convince you, besides [Page 29] what many have suffered to death, this lingering Martyredome, who would wear out the Saints of the most High, and weary them out by sufferings, but the Lord is upholding them by his hand, who can overturn Nations at his pleasure; Before this blood that is spilt in Christendome about Religion, Church Worship and Ministry, and his maintenance, and oppressing People for not respecting persons, and breaking the Commands of Christ be taken off of these Nations, and the blood be revenged, and Inquisition made for it, search made for it, the Author of all things, of spilling of it, sad weight you will feel, and wo and misery will come upon you before the Nation be cleansed of this; Therefore I say, the Innocency, the Patience of the suf­ferings of the People of God, that suffer dayly, examples and paterns among you all, following the Prophets and Christs and the Saints in suffering, may convince you, not threatning to re­venge, nor lifting up their hand against you, but committing their cause to the Lord, who do avenge the cause of his People, and will be avenged and overturn untill Righteousnesse be Esta­blished; And while you turn against the Just, and persecute the People of God, you go against the Power of God, in which you should be Established, and so you cannot prosper, until you stop oppression and persecution, and the violence of the unrighteous Ministry, that they shall not spoyl and devour the People of Gods goods; And stop the violence of Judges that they shall not fine and imprison, and make havock of the people that will not respect their persons; And that they shall not be persecuted, and prisoned, and fined, because they will not sware, and break the command of Christ; And stop the violence of the rude mul­titude, that they shall not breake the windows, knock down, and beat, bruise, stone the people of God; And that the Ju­stices shall not encourage the Priests rude people to abuse, to tear Cloathes, to break the heads of the people of God as they walk up and down; And you stop the violence of the bad Magistrates, Mayors, and Balliffs, for whiping honest men of sufficient estates for sturdy Rogues and Beggers, for warning them to feare God, and bidding the Town Repent of wickednesse, Oathes, Drunk­ennesse, and filthinesse; When you stop these things, then there may be something of your prospering; When you stop the corruptions of Magistrates, Mayors and Bayliffs, that stop such as go to meet together the first day of the week; [Page 30] but so long as you suffer such things to be acted, you go in the way to have the Nation ruined; And when you begin to stop the Church-wardens and the Clerks that come to make havock and will cast in prison such as will not give them monie, and spoil their goods though they do nought to them, while you suffer these unrighteous things to be acted in the Nation, it is but like the righteous Power you should deny, and so you not be established.

Oh when will the Goals & houses of Correction be emptied of the Lambs and Babes and Children of God? Oh when will they have a place out of your Goals and houses of Correction and Stocks? Oh when will you let them have a place among you, the Lambs and sheep out of the Wolves Dens? When will you set your Goals open, and free them of the People of God? It is not to be looked for until you come into the mind of Christ, nor expected; and when will you come into that as you long in words have talked on? Oh where is Truth to be looked for now among the bad Magistrates, and the Teachers of unrighteousnesse for filthy lucre, but in their Goals, their Cages, their houses of correction, and in their Stocks? Oh how is this Nation torn and tattered being out of the life and power of God, which should govern, and the Wisdom of God which is pure and gentle from above? How do the earthly, sensual and devilish appear in the highest place of Worship, and chiefest houses of prayer? How do men appear more like Wolves? How do the people appear in sheeps cloathing but in Wolves nature, both professors and Teachers? Is not this sad to behold, and lamentable to look upon? How ill-favoured do Religion and profession become the people that are persecuted? How unseemly are the sheeps cloa­thing upon the [...]cks of the Persecutors, and people with their Clubs, and Staves, and Bills, and Stones in their hands, and Dirt and Mire, and the Priest with his Goals and Stocks, are these the weapons of Spiritual men? oh for shame, how dare they adventure to take the Name of a Minister of Christ, and have no better weapons, no better Armour then such Weapons as these? Are not all these got up since the Apostles dayes? Exa­mine your Old Records and History Books, and read the Epi­stles of the Apostles, where they gave such commands, or whe­ther there were such weapons, Stocks, whips and Prisons, and [Page 31] that those should be them that should bend people to wor­ship; Do these make worshippers of God in the Spirit and Truth, Goals, Stocks, whips, Prisons, these make wil-worship­pers, that are made by Will-worshippers? but it is not the work of them that worship in the Spirit? for the wea­pons of the Apostles were Spiritual not carnal, they wrestled not with flesh and blood, but with the powers of darknesse, and spiritual wickednesse in high places, these were the workmen that were not ashamed, that had the spiritual weapons, and these were in the mind of Christ the Prince of life, that destroyed death and the devil the power of it, and come to save mens lives, whose Doctrine was Love enemies, but you have disobeyed it that persecutes your brethren the Christians to death, and so one Christian persecute another, and you are not in the higher Power of Christ that destroyes the Devil, but you are in that Power that hates, and you destroy the Creatures, these are the blind guides and blind Leaders and watchmen, that run at the Creatures, and should run at the power of darknesse, and these be out of the love of God to enemies, and these will wrestle with flesh and blood, be in the power of darknesse the Devils work, and so defaces the Creature, and do not bring it into the Liberty of the Sons of God, these should be ashamed of their work before the Lord, and are such as the Lord never sent, for whom he sends he Arms, makes them walls of brasse that they shall not fear the whole world, they abhor the name of a prison, or Goal, or a stock, or a whip, or cage, or an inquisition to search people, or to bring them to worship God, for these have been since men inwardly ravened from the Spirit of God which should search them; your day is come of tryal, the day is come of Christendoms tryal, by which day her works and actions are seen, and have been seen since the Apostles dayes and time.

And are not you all blind, and do not you hood-winck your selves, else might you not see what confusion there is amongst your Teachers? have they not teacht you should work out your Salvation with fear and trembling, and if any come to that work, to tremble at the Word of God, then he is scofft and mockt, a nick-name is given him by the Priests and his follow­ers, (A Quaker.) And have not your Priests said you should re­pent, and if any come to repent and to turn away from sin, is not he made a prey upon by you? And have not the Priests [Page 32] taught that people should be taught of God, have the Law of God written in their mindes and hearts, if any come to witness this, he is as a beacon set on an hill, he is mockt and scofft at, one that denies means? And have not your Priests and you prayed that the Lord would lead them by his Spirit, and give his spirit, and if any one come to witnesse this, that he is led by the Spirit of God, that pray in the Spirit, and sing in the Spirit, and the spirit of the Father speaking in him, he is called a Blasphemer and one that is not fit to dwell upon the earth? And have not your Priests and you declared that Christ should be in people except they be Reprobates, and if any one come to witnesse Christ in him the hope of glory, the body dead be­cause of sin, and he manifest in the flesh to destroy sin in his flesh, and he through him became Gods Righteousnesse, these are the men and these are the people that are not fit to live upon the Earth, and yet you will have Taxes of them, Assesments, Ex­cize, mend Steeple-houses, pay Clerks, pay Priests treble and treble, and their goods taken away, and Horses and Cattel for going to Meetings, and they fined and Imprisoned for asking the Priest a question, and they Prisoned and their Goods spoil­ed for not paying the Church-Wardens for mending the Stee­ple-house, and yet must not have the service of it, to ask the Priest a Question in it, and yet he must have treble and treble, give him treble, and he will take treble and treble; Are these like Gospel times? Besides all the Mocks and Reproaches, and the breaking the Meetings; Is this like Liberty of Conscience? Are these the works of Lambs and sheep? Read your selves, and see which nature you are in.

LEt all your Laws, Friends, be drawn up into a short column, that all Countrey men may know it, and the end of it; And let not the Law be like a Bottomlesse Pit, that neither Law­yers, nor Judges, nor any people knows the end of it hardly; Therefore thousands of people are almost undone, let all be [Page 33] drawn up in a little short Volumn, and all the rest burnt and remitted and of no use; And let not any one execute the Law for money, least ye make merchandize of the people, and buy and sell causes for a thing of nought, and make a prey of peo­ple, Whereby the Just is hindred from his right often. Take away your Augmentations, Tythes, Gleab-lands, Easter-reck­onings, Midsummer-dues and Mortuaries, gifts, rewards, wa­ges from your Pastors and Teachers, and then you will see whe­ther your Religion, Worship, Church and Ministry do not end in that which is for the Mouth and Belly, and let no man have the name of a Minister of Christ, that is made at Schooles and Colledges and by Tongues the naturall, but let them have the name of a States Clark to read Acts and Proclamations, and they are hardly worthy of that, for they have said long enough that they are Ministers of Christ, and yet they say they never heard his voice.

OUr Friends, have suffered long imprisonment, some for not swearing to their answers, some for not answering by an Attorney, some for not paying Tythes, some for not putting off the Hat, and paying Clerkes wages, and for not upholding the old Mass-houses; So now the Lawyers, and Judges, that we may have a publick meeting with them, or discourse of these things, whether they be according to Law or Justice, or they have done according to Law or Justice, or whether there be any law now standing in the Nation for Tythes, or any Bishops, or Ecclesiastical Judges; or whether there be any Law now in the Nation that will Imprison a man if he do not appeare by an Attorney, or if their be any law in the Nation that will prison a man if he will not sware to his answer, and whether or no all them that sware are not them that do not the things that Christ commanded, that is to say, sware not at all, yet they are such as call him Lord; So now if that you or any other will engage that we may have a meet­ting [Page 34] with the chief Judges or Lawyers in the Nation, we would be willing to discourse with them of these things accord­ing to their own Law: That Truth may come to appeare, and that these things may come to be disputed before you who are a Committee, or some members of the Parliament; And saying the word Thee, or Thou, and not wearing Ribbonds, and not pay­ing Tythes, and for not paying Clerks wages, and not mend­ing Steeple-houses, and not swearing to their answers, and not feeing their Attorneys, and not putting off the Hat, are the greatest things we are hated for in the Nation; So that we may have a discourse with the Ministers and Lawyers together, or each of them; And for owning the Light Christ that doth en­lighten every one that cometh into the World, and owning perfection, and overcoming sin, and saying we are in him, and He in us, that doth destroy the Devil and all his works; and these be the great things we are hated for, which things we de­sire to discourse of with any man, Lawyers, Priests, or Judges.

YOu are to do the Nations businesse freely, and that is the way to get into the hearts of People, to answer the good and just Principle of God in them, and take away Tythes and oppression, and take away great Assesments, abate your Wages, stop persecution for Religion, Whipping, Stocking, Imprisoning and killing, That the Blood of the Innocent ye may keep off of you, which few have done before you, for which the secret Power of the Lord hath wrought and overturned them. Friends, this I say to you, Paul was never persecuted untill he came to exercise himself to have a good conscience towards God and towards man, then was he stoned, was he prisoned, then was he tossed up and down before Magistrates, and haled up and down from place to place; So when he came to the confession that he exercised himselfe to have a good conscience towards [Page 35] God and towards man, then the Magistrates was against him, the Powers, the Priests, the people of the Earth, and so they do against us, when we come to exercise our selves, to have our Consciences void of offence, &c. to keep it clear, then the Magistrates began to persecute against us, people to stone us, Priests to rage against us in their Pulpits, and cry to the Ma­gistrates, help, help, help, These are the men that turn the World upside down, these are the men that deny Government, as they said to Christ, this is the man that is against Cesar, and a breaker of the Law; And called Paul a pestilent fellow, a ring-leader of Sects, and charged him with Heresie for the answer of a good Conscience, but Paul answered in Wisdom and sober­nesse, saying, by that way which you call Heresie do we Wor­ship the God of our Fathers, and so do we, and if the Magi­strates had nothing to do with Paul, who exercised a pure Con­science, what hath the Magistrate to do now with them that do exercise their Conscience, if the Magistrates do still persecute them that exercise their Consciences towards God and to­wards man, they must judge Paul to be the Heretick. There­fore this I say to you, as long as you keep the Priests up with their Tythes, with their maintenance, and feed them, ye will have trouble in the Nation, for they will be setting the people one against another; So take away their maintenance, & let them that will preach freely, preach, and then you will try who is for God, and who is for Baal, for the wages of unrighteous­ness, and who is for the belly; so let them plow, and dig, and make vineyards; And let no man be persecuted for the exer­cise of his conscience; And keep ye low and in the power of God, and in the fear, and in his Life, or else you will be bu­sie with those things which doth not belong to you, and you will not have an understanding to order, and govern those things which belongs to your place, and thereby come ye by that to be blinde; And such by the power of the Lord God the Lord throws out; Therefore that which would blinde your eyes, keep down, keep out, keep silent, keep sober; lay not hands upon any hastily, neither give Judgement suddenly least ye shed the Innocent blood, and that is the way to stand and prosper, for this is your time and day.

TO all that say they are not Popishly-affected, nor Papistly-minded, then why do you minde the old Mass-house so much, with so many Popish crosses upon it? Then why do you follow the Popish priests, that are made at the Popish Schooles? At Trinity Colledge, and Jesus Colledge, and Christ Colledge, which goes in black Coats, imitating the Popish Jesuites and not the Apostles, and why do you follow these priests that says their prayers by the glasse, as the Papists do their Masse; and if you were not Popishly minded, nor Papistly af­fected why do you let your Priests take the Pops almes, which is Tythes, and Easter-reckonings, and Midsummer-dues? Where did Christ to the Apostles set forth such a maintenance for his? And if you were not Popishly-minded and Papistly affected, why do you set up all these pictures in your houses, and on your signes, and upon Cloath, and daub­ing upon a board the shape of men and women, more liker mad people and fancical Papists, not the Apostles? for where had they such things, and if you were not Popishly affected, and Papistly minded; why do you set the Papists Crosse upon all your weights, and measures, and Silver and Gold, Ships, maces, Flages, Seales, and Cars, Coaches, Conduits, Gates, Scut­chins, and upon the Seale of England, Scotland and Ireland stands the stinking Popes Crosse; Oh the stink of Popery thats amongst us! And what can you do without it, can you make Seals without it, weights and Coins? now are not you Popish­ly minded that follow all this? For where did the Apostle give you any such examples, doth he not tell you that the Crosse of Christ is the power of God, and if you were not Popish­ly affected and Papistly-minded, why hath not the priests re­nounced their black coats, the Jesuites tribe, and why have not you and your Ministers forsaken their making Ministers at Col­ledges, as they do in Spain and France and Italy? and was not the Papist the first that set up these Colledges in England, and gave them the names by which you now call them? as Trinity Colledge, Christ Colledge, &c. And if you were not Popishly [Page 37] minded, you would at lest have changed their names, and you would a been ashamed to a made the Papists old Masse-house, your Church as you call it, which they formerly consecrated and hallowed and named, in which ye continue to this day, as Peters, Pauls, Margrets, St. Dunstons, Marys and Grigories, Austins, Alhallowes, Michael, &c. If you had not been Popishly minded, and Papistly affected, you would have changed these names, and if you were not Popishly minded and Papistly af­fected, ye would have denyed all the dayes and their names, which the Pope hath from time to time invented and imposed, wherein the Creatures of God are and have been spent upon mens ungodly lusts; as Christmas, Lammas, Michelmas and Mar­tlemas, Candlemas, and Childermas, Alhalamas, what doth all this Popery stuffe about your eares, and in your mindes, if you are not Popishly affected, and Papistly minded, what do you with all these names of the Popes; to your times and seasons, and also for your dayes, as Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, the 2, 3, and 4, Sunday in Advent. What smells this off, if not Popery, what is Epiphany Sunday, the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Sunday after Epipbany, and what is Sexagisima and quinquagisima Sun­day, and what Trinity Sunday, and Whitsunday, 1, 2, 3, 4, Sunday after Trinity, and all the like rubbidge and stuffe, is it not Popery; and what is the Annuntiation and Purification of Ma­ry, and how is it that you still keep up the names and times and dayes, holy dayes which the Pope hath formerly given to this Nation, and continue the observation of them and the Memorial of so many of them even in the Publick affairs & transactions at courts & terms, yearly Calenders, and Almanacks, whereby the people are kept in superstition and Ignorance to this day, doth not this serve the Popes interest, and make people ready to receive all the rest of his institutions, when the least oppertuni­ty presents, for what means all these names, as St. Thomas, John, Matthew, Mary, Mark, Lukes dayes, day of Invocation of Mary, St. John the Baptist, St. Stephen, Michael, Bartholomew, Simon and Jude, and what means the names of each week day, as Sunday, Munday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: But Popery, and Heathens who invented these names, and if you were not Popishly and Heathenishly minded and affected, [Page 38] you would blot out all these things of theirs and have gone ac­cording to Scripture, which these are contrary to, may not the Papists laugh and mock at your denying them in word, and still keep in their Doctrines and Teachings, and Inventions? and if you be not Popishly affected or in love with the Popes wayes, why do you continue in these names and Titles of places and degrees to your younger and elder Schollars in the Schooles of Oxford and Cambridge? and what means all the Images of brasse and stone in severall places? if you be not mind­ed to continue Popery, why do you continue their old Monu­ments of Idolatry?

If you be not Popishly minded, how comes these things amongst you which we bear testimony against?

WEll, come Christendom, and you that are called Teachers and professors in it, and Rulers and Magistrates, will not your Church your Ministry, your Worship, your mainten­ance, your Laws, and the makers of them, by which these things have been upheld, by which peoples states have been ru­inated, and their lives taken away, will not this fall down to­gether, will not all this come to an end, will not all this cease and rot off the out-side of the Land of the living, and the City of the living God, and the Church, and true Ministry, that receives freely, and give freely, and Eats what is set before them, and the true Worshippers; will not all this be a shame to true Magistracie, when it ariseth throughout Christendome, who are the help Government for Christ, that saves mens lives, that doth not destroy mens lives about Worship, Church, Ministry or Maintenance; as thou Christendom hath done since the dayes of the Apostles.

But come Priest, Magistrates, and Christendome, can you limite the Holy One? Can you stop the hand of God for over­turning? Can you hinder the winde from blowing? Can [Page 39] you stop the rage of the Sea? Can you turn the Sea back­ward? Can you break the Covenant with the day, and with the night, that there shall be neither day nor night in its sea­son? Can you hinder the Summer and the Winter? Can you hinder the dew from falling upon the tender herbs, and grasse, and buds, and plants, and gardens? Can you stop the great showres of Raine, that it raine not? Can you stop the Thunder and the way thereof, whereby the Mystery of God shall be revealed?

Dare you venture upon the Lyon in the Forest, in the Wil­dernesse, & in the Woods? Can you hinder the frost from freez­ing in the Winter? Is there any Frost in the Summer? Can you make the Summer frozen? Can you make the tender buds and plants frozen in the Summer, and the pools and the springs? Can you frieze them up? Can you make the dust of the Sum­mer as Winter, when the seed lyes within the clods before the buds spring forth and the Lilly and tender Vine? Can you stop all the plants and trees of the Earth from bearing, that they shall not bring forth their fruits in due season?

Can you make night day, or day night? Or can you make Truth Error, or Error Truth, or call it so? Can you stop the springs of the Sea, or all the springs in Rocks and Moun­tains? And what doth these things figure forth?

Can you hinder all the birds of the field from singing, or the horses for neighing, or the beasts from lowing, or all the fish of the Sea from breeding, or can you hinder the Creation for bringing forth? Then you may say we can hinder God in his work.

Is it by a Law you will limit the Holy One, and not suffer sin to be reproved in your gates?

And is it by a law you will suffer the Priests to make havock of peoples goods, and spoyl them, and prison them to death that do no work for, and be compelled to a Church made of stone? is not this like the Heathen that compel people to wor­ship a god of stone, which is all without the Church of God, the worship of God in the Spirit, which love constraines.

And could you have stopped the flood that drowned the whole World for their wickednesse; when God had given them ful­ness, that lived in idlenesse and served not him, among whom the Righteous person was a fool that among them preach­ed Righteousnesse.

Can you quench the fire of the Almighty, the everlasting burn­ing, which will consume the wicked world that is reserved for it? And all persecutors among whom are laws and forms, and husks, and shells, but fruit, kernel, life and power is wanting, among whom the preachers of Righteousnesse are as fools, and which men in this ungodly and wicked world are full and Idle, who serve not the Lord but their own lusts and pleasures, and such as reprove them in the gate and warn them to repent, are become a prey among them, against whom is their laws to whip and prison them, and banish them that are diligent in the work and service of the Lord.

Well, but can you hinder the stars from rising? The morn­ing Star for breaking forth, and the Moon and the Sun from breaking forth? then you may say we can hinder the work of the Lord. Can you hinder the seeds which yeldeth seed for bringing forth, but in one place or other it will bring forth, and in all places you cannot stop it by your Laws? Hath the woman fled into the Wildernesse, is it an outward Wood, is not all Christendom more like Wolves then Lambs, and more like a Wildernesse then a Garden, and hath not all Teachers and Rulers in it that could not endure to have him and wicked­ness cryed against, been out of the power of Godlinesse?

And is it not to their shame that they have these things to be reproved, and it cannot bear it? Is not this a shame to all these workmen, diggers, and plowers, and planters, that the Earth lies waste like a howling Wildernesse, and full of deserts, and is almost full of mazed and distracted people, which are almost at their wits end, and there they are thirsty for Bread and Water? And wants the Pools and Springs.

Can you over-run the wilde beasts? Dare you take the Ly­on by the tooth? Dare ever a warrior of you all with all his carnall weapons, called Ministers, Professors, Teachers, take the wilde heifer by the horn, and swing her about, as Judah did of old? Can you tame the wilde bear, and fight with the Lyon, is any of you of Judahs Tribe, or will all your cover­ings cover you from the wrath of God, the greatest persecutors of you all, will not the Scriptures be fulfilled upon you, that you will fly to the Rocks to cover you, who would quench the Spirit of God, and limit the Holy One, and dispise prophecies, [Page 41] and say Revelation is ceased.

Can you stop God for revealing his secrets to them that fear him, or the Spirit of God from revealing to them that be born of it? Can you stop the Winde from blow­ing, then may you not say we can stop this birth from be­ing born of the Spirit? Can you stop the mouth of God when he speaks in his Prophets, or can you only take their bodies (if permitted.) Can you stop the Plagues, the Viols, and that is to come upon the persecutors, and false wor­shippers? Can you refuse the cup of the wrath of the Almigh­ty, when it is given to you? Can you turn your mouth and your head aside for not drinking of it?

Can you stop the Lord God from giving his gifts to men, to such as hath been rebellious to him, or will you say we will stop them that they shall not Minister that hath re­ceived the gift, and we will have our own Ministers which we made, and our own Church which we made of wood and stone, and we will compel all by a law to maintaine them, and to maintaine our Church, or else we will make them give treble? And they that take it will take treble of treble, and say there is nothing that is perfect to be looked for in this life; hath not the Blood of Christ the one offering, the Covenant of God been made of none ef­fect by you, and among you, which perfected for ever all them that are Sanctified, and blots out sin and iniquity; and they that have this blood doth it not cleanse from sin and dead works to serve the living God? Are they not all in their sins and dead works that have not drunken and eaten the flesh of Christ and without life?

Can you stop the inspiration of the Almighty, that the Lord should not inspire his way, his minde, and himselfe, and his Truth to his people? will you have Christ to reign, that fine and imprison men because they will not sware? And is not your honor from below, that fines and impri­sons men that will not doffe their Hats, and ye in your Earthly Crowns which must be laid in the dust, did ever any that worshipped God in the Spirit and in the Truth, persecute any since the dayes of Christ? Did ever any in [Page 42] the true Church which is in the end of the Law, persecute any about the Church, since the dayes of the Apostles, but the whore the false Church, the Beast and the Dragon? And Antichrist? answer me this if you can,

THe Black Presbyterians (so called) and Priests and Cavaliers which are stiring, you being out of the pow­er which had the Dominion first over them; what now are Priests Cavaliers, Presbyterians saying, curse ye Meroz, that will not come to fight against the Mighty meaning the Par­liament, and all the honest people of the Nation to destroy them? And what are they now hauling against you as they have been against the Quakers? Will nothing satisfie the Priests and the rest but blood, have they not been the stir­ers up for war and blood always? What have you fed them with Stipends, Augmentations, and Tythes, and voted up Tythes for them, that they come to be fed with Tythe Eggs, Pigs, Chickens and Corn, and with the spoil of the Innocent, till they kick against you, as they have done against them whom they have hailed before Courts at Assizes and Sessions, (the Innocent) and have cursed them and prisoned some of them till death? And what now are they so fat fed that they curse them that will not come to fight against the Parliament, have you fed them so far that they kick against you like wilde horses, that they snort, that there is such a snorting among them against their feeders? have you fed them like wilde bulls, and Heifers, that now they run against you with their horns? surely the Foder­ers of these have not well looked about them; have not these been called Ministers of the Gospel, but now how comes it that they preach up war? is not the Gospel a Gos­pel of Peace; these are bad cattel, horses, heifers? and bulls, that kicks against their foderers, and runs with their horns against their foderers, and you have never taken [Page 43] their maintenance away, who runs with their horns a­gainst the Just, and treads over the Just, and you will ne­ver take it away till they run against you, and tread over you; but now it may be you will feel it; But I must tell you the Sun is set upon all the Priests in this Nation, and such as be like minded, and that is the Word of the Lord God to this present age and many more; And have they told you that Quakers would kill you, & the Quakers would rise, till they be up themselves, there is the false Theefe; and now he is come out of his hole of darknesse, but I must tell you that under the covering there yet lyes a darknesse, but it may be they wil tell you they are misled, to save their Stipends, Tithes and Gleab-lands, and the Priests their Augmentations, and lives, and these things are all seen over by the Light.

CHrists Commands to his that must Rule and Judge in his Kingdom, in his Power and Authority. I say unto you sware not at all, neither by Heaven, for it is the Throne of God, nor yet by the Earth, for it is his foot­stool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the City of the great King, neither shalt thou sware by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black; but let your com­munication be yea, yea, and nay, nay, for whatsoever is more then these cometh of evil, mark, is not this the infallible way to stand, not to swear at all, but let your communica­tion be yea and nay in all controversies and differences, Trads and exchangings, it cometh of evil if it be more then these, yea and nay, this is the Doctrine in the authority; Therefore swearing by the Bible, by the Evangelist, by the Crosse, cometh of evil, it is more then yea and nay, in the evil; So not an universall but is to be condemned, James saith, if you believe he spoke infallibly, but above all things my Brethren sware not, Mark, these were the true [Page 44] Christians sware not neither by Heaven nor by Earth, nor any other oath, but let your yea be yea; mark again, & your nay nay least you fall into condemnation, so ye that swear by Heaven or Earth or any other oath are fallen into con­demnation, and ye that draw people to swear are in the condemnation; Therefore there is no man in the Govern­ment of Christ that is a swearer, and therefore you that call your selves Christians, let no man bear office that will take an oath, for oaths cometh of evil & are above yea and nay, and ye that swear are in the condemnation; now if you say the Jews swore and was to perform their oath to the Lord and swore by the Lord, yea they did so and the Scrip­ture saith thou shalt perform thy oath to the Lord, and the oath was given among them for the ending of strife, which Christ ends the Law and the strife, and redeems out of the Earth, where there need be nothing among the people but yea and nay in their communication, for all the swearing hath come from the evil, and from such as hath been in the condemnation, and would bring others since the dayes of the Apostles, some swearing by the Book, some swearing by the Crosse, some by one thing some by another, which are not worthy to be called the Ministers of Christ, nor have had no command from him, for he never set up a law nor the Apostles that there should be swearing among the Christians.

2. Do to all men as you would have them do to on and on this hangs all the Law and the Prophets, to do as you would be done by.

3. I say unto you, love your enemies; now the Jews was to kill them, the Heathen with the outward sword, but the Doctrine of Christ was to love enemies, who saith he comes to save mens lives, and gave his Body for the life of the World, for the Jews was them that persecu­ted their enemies, as you the Hypocrites & false Christians since the dayes of the Apostles; It was said of them of old time, thou shalt hate thy enemie & love thy neighbour, but I say unto you love your enemies, saith Christ, here his law and blesse them that curse you, do good to them that hate [Page 45] you, and pray for them that persecute you, that you may be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven, that loves enemies, that you may appear to be as you have said you are under grace; Now where is the law to persecute about Religion, Church Worship, Priests Maintenance, or Ministers of the Gospel as you call them? doth not these things stink and give an evil savour, and have ye not done this since the Apostles dayes in the whole Christen­dome? so if you love them that love you, what reward have you, do not the Publicans so and the Pharisees, and what singular thing do you more then they that hates, so have not the Christians love been like the Pharisees, that have hated enemies, yea and one another, and so have broken the commands of Christ, and are not the Children of the most High? but ye may see how Christians have been in the Pharisees love, loved their friends, and hated their enemies, and out of the singular thing, out of the love of God and Christ, but doth even as the Publicans and Pharisees did; therefore have they killed mens lives, not saved them, about Church-worship, as the Iews did with Christ the Son of God who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth, whose Doctrine is to love enemies, and love one another, that is the command to the Christians, but they have killed one another, the Christians so called, about Church-worship, and Priests maintenance, and Religion, and so differs no­thing from Heathen and Publicans.

4. One man esteemes one day above another, another man accounts every day alike, but let every man be fully perswaded in his own minde, let no man judge and set his Brother at nought about such things, much lesse persecute; but if you say thou shalt keep holy the Sabbath day, That was said to the Iews and not to the Christians, and he was to be stoned to death that did any manner of work up­on it.

5 Let no man bear office for Christ that will not do Ju­stice, and judge equally a mans business without he put off his hat to him, but fine him and cast him in prison, for such God will bow & overturn, let no man bear office that [Page 46] will respect persons, or would have his person respected, let no man bear an office that will not do it freely for the Common-wealth sake, and the Nations good; and this will be the way to stop that which will eat up the poor; nor no drunkard nor profane person, nor persecutor have the name of an officer for Christ, and let the least in the Church among all you that are called Christians judge of outward things.

6. And let no one be put to death for Cattel or Money, or such like Creatures, but make equall laws and Judges.

7. Let no man be forced to maintaine a Minister by laws and acts, & hailings up to Courts, but let all them be disa­nulled, for this hath been all contrary to the minde of Christ, set up since the dayes of the Apostles, both Protest­ants and Papists.

8. Let there be no papists that will have their Inquisiti­ons, Goals, and stocks, and whips, nor banishments a­bout worship, Church Ministers, and their maintenance, which is got up since the dayes of the Apostles, which is quit contrary to Christs minde.

And all Christians that you be not worse then the Turks and Heathen, among whom people may live and professe their own Religion, paying them some tribute or custom, and shall not be molested, but among you the Christians, paying you custom, excise, your taxes, main­tenance by force for a Minister which doth no work for them, yet they are haled to Courts, and prisoned till death, and yet we are fined and imprisoned for not swear­ing, and not doffing the hat, and not suffered to travel to visit one another, but taken up and whipped, and besides taken up for going to a meeting, & our horses taken from us, besides our meetings broken up and our houses broken, and we knockt down, and our blood shed, our windows broken, our cloaths rent, and we stoned in the High-ways, and is a mock and scoffe to all people and a derision; and the hands of evil doers strengthened, and yet in many places compelled to go to the Steeple-house, or else fined, yet if he go thither and ask a question, fined and imprison­ed; [Page 47] Now if this authority have not been worse then the Turks and the Heathens; for whether or no they would have served us so if we should have paid them custom, excise and taxes, to have maintained their poor, whether or no they would not have protected us better then these? but our protection hath been the Power of God, and whether or no the Turks & Heathen would have forced us to have maintained their worshipping houses, their Clerks & their Ministers, and have given them their taxes besides, and excise and customs as we do to you, whether or no in this we should have lived as slaves, and are yet among you not as free people; for all Kings, Emperors, hath got up a­mong the Christians since the dayes of the Apostles to judge of outward things, and to rule over people, whereas Christ should be the Judge, Christ should be the King, and the least of the Church should judge of outward things.

ARe not all the Teachers of the World that say men shall not be perfect, nor come to it while they be upon the Earth, are not they the Teachers of the windy Doctrine that carry men about? Is not that which is not Perfect windy? And are not men carried about with the Doctrine of these men, mark, carried about, which preach men shall not be perfect? And is not this the Doct­rine of men and not of God, which teacheth that men shall not be perfect, and is not this windy? For look up­on all the World, and behold the many Teachers that be therein, how they carry about people with a Doctrine, and is not this windy that doth not stablish, which is not per­fect? And is not the Doctrine of Christ perfect, and the Doctrine of the Prophets perfect, and the Doctrine of the Appostles perfect? And is not the Doctrine of the Apostles for the perfecting, and the Doctrine of Christ for the per­fecting and the establishing and setling, and to present every [Page 48] man perfect, & to bring them to a perfect man? But on the contrary, is not the Doctrine of men windy, which carries about people, tosseth them to and fro, is not here the cunning slights which lye in waite to deceive? For how hath people been tost to and fro with the doctrins of men in this age, since the men of this age can remember? yea the Priests the Teachers themselves, how many conditions have they been in within these few years, and likewise how many conditions have the people been in under them within these few years? Is not here tossing to and fro with the windy doctrine, and none is brought to a perfect man, but these Teachers deny that any shal be brought to a per­fect man; All people consider how many conditions your Teachers have been in within these few years since you can remember, and how unestablished they have been, them and your selves, consider how unestablished them and you are, carryed about with every winde; take notice, with every winde, mark the word winde! and tossed to and fro with it, Learn the figure how the winde tosseth to and fro; these be them that be out of perfection, present none of you perfect, they themselves being none of them perfect, having not received the gift of God which is perfect, which is given to the Ministers of God for their work, for the perfecting of the Saints; so they having not received the gift of God which is perfect, can they Minister that which is perfect for the perfecting of others?

WRestle not with Flesh and Blood ye Christians, for it is the practice of Heathens, Apostates and Jews; overcome evil with good; receive strangers and not kill them; try all things and do not quench the Spirit you may all prophecy one by one, and if any thing [...] revealed to another that fits by, let the first hold [...] peace, that all may learn and be edified and comforted, and this was in all the Churches of God, which was the [Page 49] Apostles Doctrine, but the Apostates is far from it, and Christ Jesus saith, let the tares grow until the Harvest, least you should pluck up the Wheat; but these Apostates since the Apostles dayes hath not obeyed his Doctrine, but kild with racks and inquisitions, and burnt with Faggots; (So such that would be plucking in their mad blinde zeal contrary to Christs command;) & Christ came to save mens lives, but these have destroyed them; saith the Apostle we have not power over mens faith, and is the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory held with respect of persons? And must not they that worship God, worship him in the Spirit, in the Truth, which the Devil is out of, and none can worship in it, (the Spirit) that quenches the Spirit and grieves and vexes it.

Did not Christ foresee who taught to love Enemies, and not to resist evil? And if thy Brother offend thee, forgive him, or tell him betwixt thee and him, and if he will not hear thee, then tell it to others, and if he will not hear you, then tell it to the Church, and if he will not hear the Church, then let him be an Heathen, and not kill him.

And the Apostate Christians are offended at Paul, who sayes that the Priesthood is changed that takes Tythes, and the Law is changed, and the Commandement disa­nulled that gave them.

WHo was the first Man or the first Councell, or King or Pope, that set up Colledges and Universities to make Ministers, and in what year?

Who was the first Pope or King, that set up Tythes or Gleab-lands, and Ester-reckonings, and Midsummer-dues, and mortuaries, and in what year?

Who was the first King or Counsell, or Queen, that set up all these Holy-dayes, as Candlemas, Michelmas, Christ­mas, [Page 50] and Lammas, Peters day, Maries day, and All-Saints day, &c. Who was the first that set up these things, and all other holy dayes which is set down in the Almanack, who was the first that set up these things, and in what year were they set up, and where lived he that was the Author of them.

Who was the first Pope, King or Queen that set up the Steeple-house and Chancels, and Vesteries, and what was his name, and where lived he, and in what year were they set up, that they were turned to be a Church?

Who was the first Man, King or Queen, that set up Preaching by an hour-glasse, and in what year?

Who was the first Pope, King or Queen, that set up the Surplace, and that their Ministers should go in black Coats, and in what year?

Who was the first Man, King or Queen, that set up preaching by an hour-glasse, and in what year?

Who was the first Man, Pope, King, or Queen, that set up Preaching over the dead, and funerall Sermons for ten shillings more or lesse as they can get it, and in what year?

Who was the first Man, King, Queen, or Bishop, that gave the names to the old Masse-house, which ye call a Church, to be a Temple, or a Church, and in what year?

Who was the first Man, King, Queen or Bishop, that first set up swearing among Christians, and in what year?

Who was the first Man, King, Queen, or Bishop, that set up doffing of Hats, and in what year?

Who was the first King, Queen, Bishop, or Pope, that said men should pray with two Caps, and with their Hats off of their head, and then their heads not covered when the Hat was of, and in what year?

Who was the first King, Queen, or Bishop, that first set up sprinkling of infants, and in what year?

Who was the first King, Queen, or Bishop, that first set up singing of Davids Psalmes in meeter, and in what year?

Who was the first King, Queen, or Bishop, that men­tioned [Page 51] these several orders in their Universities, as Chan­cellor, and vice Chancellor, Doctors of Divinity, and Bachelors of Divinity, Doctors of Physick, Masters of Art, and Bachelors of Art, &c. and in what year?

Who was the first Man, Pope, or Bishop, that gave the names of Doctors, and Masters, and Bachelors, seeing we do not read Master Paul, Master Peter, nor Doctor Paul, Doctor Peter, &c?

Who was the first King, Bishop, Pope, that set up the seven Arts, and Sciences, as Grammar, Logick, &c.

Who was the first King, Queen, or Bishop, that set up Hebrew, Greek, and Latin to be the Originall, and in what year?

Who was the first King, Queen, or Bishop, that set up Images and Pictures, and that men should bow down to them, and in what year?

Who was the first Man, Pope, King, or Queen, that set up the Crosses, and ordained them which now are set up in the Steeple-houses, Flags, Ships, Money, Maces, Seals, and other things, and in your Markets, and in what year?

Who was the first Bishop, King, or Queen, that set up Clerks to say Amen, and turning the Hour-glasse, and hanging the Pulpit, and in what year?

Who was the first Bishop, Pope, King, or Queen, that set up the seven Sacraments, and after that the two Sacra­ments, and who gave that name Sacrament, and in what year?

Who was the first Bishop, King, Queen or Pope, that set up Bells, and Chimes, and ringing of Bells in their severall orders, and Christening of their Bells, and hol­lowing their ground, and making it holier then another place, who was the first Author of these things, and in what year.

Who was the first Pope, King, Bishop, that set up Railes, Altars, Fonts, Holy water, and kneeling at Altars and Sacraments, and in what year

Who was the first Pope or Bishop that said every knee should bow, when Jesus was named, he doth not say that [Page 46] every knee shall bow when his name is named, but at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow; there is a difference, to bow at the Name, and to bow when he is named.

Who was the first King, Queen, or Bishop, that set up Augmentations, or Stipends, and in what year?

Who was the first King, Queen, Bishop, or Pope, that set up, that men should be seven years, or fourteen years more or lesse at the Universities before they should be Mi­nisters, or Doctors of Divinity, or whether or no these have not been all since the dayes of the Apostles, and who was the first setter up of these things, and in what year?

And who was the first setter up of Masse and Common-prayer book, and in what year?

And who was the first setter up of Nunneries, and all the Tribes that is among the Papists, as, white Fryers, black Fryers, gray Fryers, and all their orders, &c. And in what year were they set up, and who was the setter up of the first day to be the Sabboth day, and in what year?

And who was the first setter up and giver of all these names that the dayes of the week are called by, as Sunday, and Munday, and Teusday, and Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday, and Satterday, and in what year were they set up?

And who was the first setter up that men should read so many Chapters, and then sing a Psalm, and then Pray, and then take a Text, and then Preach, who was the first set­ter up of this manner of doing, and in what year?

And who was the first setter up of all these Parish-Teach­ers, and Parishes, and giving them the names of Vicars, and Curates, and Priests and Clerks, &c?

And who was the setter up that the Pope, King or Queen, should have the tenth of the Tenths, or the tythe of the Tythes, and in what year were they first set up?

And who was the first setter up that men should wear gold and costly aray, and Feathers, and all this costly at­tire, seeing the Apostle saith, not wearing of gold nor cost­ly apparel, therefore who is the first Author of these things since the dayes of the Apostles among the Christians?

And who was the first setter up of Organs, and of paint­ing of windows, and in what year?

Who was the first Bishop, Pope, King or Queen that set up Churching of women for money, and marying for money, and in what year?

Who was the first setter up of all these playes, May-games and cards at Christmas, and in what year?

And who was the first that said the Scriptures is the Word of God, seeing the Scriptures sayes, God is the Word; and who was the first that said, Hebrew, Greek and Latin, is the Original, and the four Books, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John the Gospel, who was the first setter up of all these and in what year?

And who was the first King Bishop or Queen, that was the first that began to persecute for Religion sake a­mong the Christians, and who was the first Christian that persecuted, seeing the Apostles said, they warred not with flesh and blood, their weapons were Spiritual?

And who was the first that began to persecute men about their Church, about their Ministry, about the Prophets, Apostles, and Christs words, and who was the first setter up of prisons for them, Inquisitions, Racks and Tortures, and in what year?

Who was the first that began to banish Christians that had the name of Christians themselves, was he a King, was she a Queen, was he a Bishop, was he a Pope, and in what year lived he, seeing Christ said love your Enemies; who was the first King, Queen or Bishop that taught people to say good-even, or good-morrow, and that wo­men should make courtesies, and men should make legs, bring the Author, and in what year?

And who was the first King, or Queen, or Bishop that tollerated wearing of Rings, Gold lace, Ribbonds, Brac­lets, Iewels, Beads, spotting their Faces, painting of them, who was the first Author of these since the dayes of the Apostles, amongst the Christians, and in what year?

Who was the first Author, King, Bishop, Queen, that people should go in black, that which they call mourning [Page 54] at the death of any man, and in what year?

Who was the first King, Queen, or Bishop, or Pope, that set up that Chistians should beat themselves with a rope tied about them, got up since the dayes of the Apostles?

And who was the first King, Queen, Bishop, or Pope, that set up that men and women should pray with beads, and that outward candles should burn night and day, and in what year?

And who was it that set up a set maintenance by com­pulsion, a maintenance for a Ministry, and from such as they do not teach, and in what year have they got up since the dayes of the Apostles?

Who was the first setter up of Ecclesiasticall Courts, and Promooters, and the Ecclesiasticall Judges, and in what year have they got up?

Who was the first King, Queen, Bishop, or Pope, that first set up Marrying with a Ring, and sprinkling Infants with the signe of the Crosse?

Who was the first King, Queen, Bishop, or Pope, that gave the name of Saints to Steeple-houses, and in what year?

Who was the first in Christendom, that set up consecra­tions, that said Bread and Wine was the Body and Blood of Christ, which they call transubstantiation, and in what year?

Who was the first that set up prisons, and kindled fires, since the dayes of the Apostles amongst the Christians?

Who was the first that held up the wicked fist, and caus­ed the smoak amongst the Christians, and who are the Frogs and Locusts spoken of in the Revelations, and hath not this smoak and this bottomlesse pit come up since the dayes of the Apostles, that persecuting murdering power, &c?