The Captives Returne OR The Testimonys of JOHN DANKS, of Colchester, and ELIZABETH DANKS, his wife, to the mercy and goodness of God, in calling them back to his Everlasting truth, after their out-runnings and seperation from the same.

Also Being warnings to those that still Continue in Enmity and seperation from the pretious truth and from the people of God, that they may Returne while the Lord Calls and while the day of their visita­tion continues.

VVith a short testimony to the truth by way of Preface written by JOHN FURLY, Junior.

Printed in the Year. 1680.

The PRAEFACE To the READER.

Friendly READER,

SInce the dawning and breaking forth of Gods glorious day, and revelation of his blessed truth, after a long night of darkness, many have been the devices of the enemy of mankind, through his subtile and divers workings, to hinder the knowledg of the glory of it from the Sons of men; and the adversaries of it have been of divers sorts: But it being against the Truth, they have been con­founded in their work; so that we have seen it fulfilled, that no weapon formed against the truth hath prospered. And tho some from among us (by going from the power of truth which once reached to them) have come to suffer loss, and, in that lost estate, have accused us of falling away from what we first were, and, in the Spirit of enmity, have rose up and wrot against us; yet the Lord sometimes bath reached to such again; and made them beare testimony to the truth, & against their own out-runnings, that where they have been an occasion of stumbling, by any thing acted or brought forth by them in that state of separation from God and his people, they might, as much as in them lyes, remove the same by bearing witness against the fruits of that Spirit which then acted them while they stood up pretendedly for the truth in a Spirit that was out of it. Now this having been the state [Page] of this person Iohn Dankes, he found it as a necessity upon him to bear testimony against that book of his, publisht under the name of Christodulus Ecclestone (long since answered by VV. G.) that if it hath or may come to the hands of any who may thereby have let in, or may be strengthened in prejudice against the truth and the friends or it that have abode faithful to it, the prejudice may, as far as in him lyes, be removed, and this his testimony be as publik as his aforesaid book, which is the reason of the printing of it, and also that it might be a warning to others that either have or hereafter may run into the same Spirit of prejudice and enmity against the truth and those that live in it, not to appear so openly, and so rashly to accuse us of apostacy, while themselves are the apostates: For let such know assuredly, that tho their pre­tences may be specious in their own eyes (as his were) they must come to judgment, and it wil one day prove as a load too heavy for them to bear.

And now thou to whom this may come, who hast had, or still mayst have desires to be satisfied in our principles and dost incline to the path in when we walk, its worthy thy consideration (tender Reader) how many wayes truths and our adversaries have appeared and that not onely through open, but private enemies; and how their Charges against us have been directly contrary one to the other. One sort of them upbraiding us with holding doctrines not consistant with the Scriptures of truth; while other of them, being bett­er informed of our principles, say they are good, but that we are not now the same in principle as at the beginning (where as that is onely their ignorance of our principles then.) Others, that have rose up against us from amongst us bearing testimony to our being the same in principle, alledge [Page] that we are not so in life and conversation. Thus I say, it's worthy the honest readers serious consideration, how our opposers accusations have been divers, as also, how that those latter that have gone out from us, being, as the apostle said, not truly of us, doe yet generally bear testimony to the truth of our principles, in particular to that divine Spirit, Grace or Light of Christ Jesus that discovers sin and iniquity and the sufficiency of it so salvation to all that obey it. And there­fore, my advice, in these few lines, to those that are in­quiring after the Lord, is, Let not these Contradictions and aspersions, that we have met with all, either from without, or from such as for a season have walked among us (but through not keeping judgment to the Line, have started a side like a broken bow) deter thee in thy sincere desires af­ter the Lord; but incline thy mind to the divine principle of life in thy selfe, which will cleanse thee from that which hath made thee destitute of Gods presence, as thou keeps to it, and removing that which hath hindred good things from thy soule, will give thee a sence of the divine being, and keep thee a clean and holy habitation for himself through thy pilgrimage in this Earthly tabernacle, untill thou finish thy cours, and thy race here be run, and thou enter into thy rest and haven of Everlasting blessedness, not heed­ing the occasions which, through the wiles of the enemy ei­ther in thy self or from others without, may be offered thee to return, nor regarding those that may fall on the right hand or on the left, for offences will come, but woe to them by whom they come, but blessed are they (saith Christ Jesus) who are not offended in me: that this may be the portion of all whom the Lord hath or may yet visit by his power (that is now going forth for the visiting of the nations) is my [Page] soules desire, who, tho I have here reprehended that spirit that watches for advantages, and there-from takes occasion to Cast stumbling blocks in the way of the simple, am far from justifying those that give the occasion of stumbling, but do advise all to walk as becomes the Gospell professed by them.

JOHN FURLY. Junior.
Colchester this 6 th Moneth. 1680.

The TESTIMONY OF ELIZABETH DANKS. &c.

A True and faithfull warning to all those who have had a Convince­ment of Gods truth upon their hearts, and have received of his blessed refreshings to their soules, in often meeting toge­ther with the people of the Lord. But the way that leadeth to the kingdome of heaven, being a strait and narrow way, Oh! there be many that cannot enter through it: it is too straight and too narrow for them that rather chuse the broad way, that leadeth to everlasting destruction, for a little mirth, merryment and vaine glory, which will stand them in no stead when death seises upon them, but will rise up in judgment against them for their disobedience unto the Lord. Therefore all yee who have backslidden from Gods Eternall truth, which once yee were made partakers of, in some measure, Oh! be awakened, be awakened unto righteousness, Oh! hast, hast, with true repentance, to meet the Lord, before his wrath be kindled against you, for your disobedience unto him, whom yee have pierced time after time and day after day. Oh! all yee who are still turning your backs upon the truth, and returning as a dog to the vomit again: Oh! be fore-warned what yee are going about to doe. If yee forsake the Lord and his truth woe and misery will be your portion, no peace will yee have, wheresoever yee flee the judgments of the righteous God will pursue you. These things can I declare unto them to be true, for this was my Condition once, after I for sooke the Lord and cast Truth behind my back as a thing of nought. Oh! then I could have no peace, no true rest could I have wheresoever I became: The Lord pursued me night and day, which even brake my heart, and there was an earnest crye entred my heart The spirit of the Lord will not alwayes strive with man and woman: Oh! then I began to Consider how often the Lord, in his everlasting loving kindness, had strove with me, and I said in my heart surely this is the last striving the Lord will have with me: Therefore if yee will hear his voice harden not your hearts, but incline your ear, hearken dilligently and be truly obedient to the Lord and your soules shall live and not dye: Oh righteous God! Thy loving kind­ness [Page 2] hath been large unto me, thy tender bowels of Love and Com­passion were towards and over me, in that long night of darkness, where I wandred long as one weary and heavy laden, and where to get rest I knew not, untill the Lord God in his own due time visited me with a sore visitation of sickness, in which he brought me even to the brink of the grave, and, to the Eye of reason, not like to live. Oh when death was set in order before me, and my slighting of Gods truth, which I once witnessed and lived in, came over me, Oh! then was my heart broken unto the Lord, and these were my Cryes unto him. Oh righteous God! if it be thy will, mix thy judgments with mer­cy, and spare me, if it be thy will, that I may live to thy glory and praise for­ever and evermore; that this my so re visitation may work my everlasting salvation and tend to thy glory and everlasting praises forever and evermore.

Oh thou righteous god! who in thy everlasting loving kindness hast plucked me as a brand out of the fire, and hast set my face Sion wards againe, Oh! living praises be unto thee thou righteous one. O [...] thy Love and tenderness there is no end. I have great cause to declare it amongst you, for I have received it in a large measure. He hath brough [...] me unto a dying daily unto enmity, and a living unto righteousness where I find a quiet habitation through true obedience unto the Lor [...] in whatsoever he maketh known unto me, and herein have I peace with the Lord. Oh! all yee that are backslidden from Gods Eternall truth consider what yee are doing. If yee goe on in rebellion and cast reproof behind your backs, woe and misery will be your end, i [...] yee repent not with speed, Remember, the spirit of the Lord will not alwayes strive with man and woman, therefore if yee love and render the good of your own soules, and your everlasting welfare with the Lord return, return unto him, whom yee have forsaken, with your heart continually bowed before him.

Friends, these things opened unto me in the time of my affliction that (if he raised me again,) I should be faithfull in what he had made known unto me, and now the Lord hath laid it upon me to hast it forth that all may be fore warned of their backsliding from the L [...]d, before the day of their Everlasting destruction overtake them, for then it will be too late.

ELIZABETH DANKS.
Written in the 6 Moneth. 1680.

The Testimony of JOHN DANKS.

Here is a weary wanderer in the wilderness, who, by hea­ring the voice of him that Cryes behind, this is the way walk in it, is returned home into his tent; where, by still and quiet waiting upon his God, the Lord has shewn, and set in order before him the by-paths and mis-steps, which he has troden ever since the day he returned his Captivity, and brought him out of the house of bondage, and set his face towards the Land of rest.

OH my friends! I am constrained to declare of the great loving kindness and long-sufferance, of the forbearance and patience of my God towards me, ever since the day that I was convinced of the Eternall truth of God, which he has mani­fested in this our age and generation, who, by his faithfull servant and messenger Iames Parnell, turned my mind from darkness to Light; which Light discoverd unto me the wofull state and condition that I was in, as to God-wards: which when I saw it, I was filld with horror and anguish, and the righteous God set up his just judgments in me, which took such sure hold, that I could neither drink, nor eat, nor talk, nor sleep, nor walk in quiet: but all was for judgment, that ever I did. Sorrow compast me round, in sorrow I layd down at night and in the morning I rose up in sorrow; and this never ceased untill it had broke my will to pieces, and subdued and brought under my evill affections: and so brought me to wayt upon God in the measure of Light made manifest in me, in the true silence of my spirit. And thus the Lord, by his judgments, wrought a good reformation in me, and redeemed me from my vaine conversation, and then a secret hope of Eternall life was begotten in me, and a love towards the Lord and his people sprang up in my heart, with a great pitty towards those which were without, which were strangers in their minds to God: And when any of the servants of the Lord declared the truth of God, Oh! what earnest desires would arise in me, that some such might be reached, and be brought to a sence of their Conditions, and it was my joy to see the prosperity of the truth both within and without; and thus the Lord by his judgments brought me near to himself, tho once afar off; and here my afflicted soule found some joy and comfort, and here was some re­conciliation [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page 2] [...] [Page] [...] [Page 4] with God. Oh happy and blessed day! Oh Lord, let the remembrance thereof never more depart from me till the day of my death. But through disobedience I soon lost my condition; For my evill inclinations sprang up again, and, I being careless and from off my watch, my will broke out, and my old adversary the devill soon catched hold on me, and led me into by-paths and into dark holes and Corners of the earth, and upon the hills and mountaines of imagination untill I was bewildred, and I went I knew not whither stumbling and falling, sometimes on the right hand and sometimes on the left, and sometimes, as it were, going quite back again into the bondage of Corruptions, to wit the open pollutions of the world, out of which the Lord had redeemed me; yet in all my backslidings the Lord would not leave me, but followed me with his judgments and often filled my soule with terror and anguish: but my will, being got out into liberty, would not be bridled, but hardned my heart, and went on in stifneckedness and rebellion against the Lord, and would have none of his reproofs: where upon in process of time the people of the Lord, with whom I had walked and had union and comunion with, disowned me, and publickly declared against me: which was such a heavy stroak, that it struck me almost to death: for severall dayes and nights together I was as once benummed in his sences or as one past feeling: for I was neither sensible of joy nor Sorrow. But when I recovered my self, I considred their proceedings against me, and, judging them to be unjust, I gatherd up all the strong proofs and arguments that I could get against them, and away I went to the mens meetings to Vin­dicate my self, and to prove them transgressors, and so to acquit my self: thus I went time after time from one meeting to another; and from one particular friend to another, and spake and wrote, but all would not do; no satisfaction could I have; which increast my trouble and fild my heart with a multitude of thoughts; and how to get ease I knew not. In this turmoile of spirit I fell to writing and wrote that book signed Christodulus Eccleston, which book I now disown and testify against; and the spirit that gave it forth, Let the matter con­tained in it be what it will, as given forth by that Spirit that is out of the faith, which workes by love, which is the bond of peace; and therefore, in the faith which workes by Love, it is judged and con­demned to be good for nothing, but for to stir up envy and discord, [Page 5] and to beget prejudice, and to nourish and strengthen the same. And therefore I desire all friends and people, who have any of them in their Custody, or afterward shall come into their hands to make them null and void. And when this book was made publick still I had no satisfaction, but remained in great trouble, and was tumbled and tossed up and down, and sometimes ran into extravagancy amongst ex­travagant company, and then judgment and terror would lay hold on me, and shame would cover my face, in so much that once above all the rest the terror and wrath of the almighty was so heavy upon me, that I knew not what to do, nor where to wind my self, for no quietness, nor rest I could have night nor day, and death was of­ten presented before me, and what a wofull portion I should have, if the Lord should take me off the earth, in that Condition; which made me Crye within my self, Lord what shall I do? And this was the answer. Doe no evill, Commit no sin; And at that time, I made a promise to God, that I would take heed to my wayes, and walk more Circumspectly before him, so that this begat an awe in me, so that I durst not run into such customs, but was more watch­full over my wayes; and here I had some peace and quietness of mind; but still sorrow pursued me, and I walked with a bowed down Spirit, so that I was made very sensible of my great loss; for I felt no such living refreshments and comforts issuing into my soule, as for­merly I had, and I was also made sensible, that this my loss came through my disobedience, and my being seperated from the Lords people, and my neglect in waiting upon God: Then there arose longing desires in me, that I might once more enjoy the privelidg that I once had, to wit Union with the Lords people, and to wayt upon God; But then friends publick declaration against me, appeared such a great block in my way, that I could not step over it, but I made a promise to God, that, if ever he would give me another oppor­tunity to make up the breach between us, I would in no case obstruct or hinder it, and a beleif was begotten in me that God would work out my way for me: so I waited in my longing desires and hope to see the fulfilling of my belief and in Gods due time he did give me another opportunity. For according to his good pleasure George Fox came to town, who, like a tender and loving father who amongst his Children is willing to accept the least submission from [Page 6] a wilfull Child, tooke the stumbling block out of my way, and made my way plaine, so that I might goe and set down with the Lords people and wait upon God: in which state I now am, waiting upon God for the resur­rection of my first Love; Everlasting praises and thanks be unto his name forever, who has once more plucked my feet out of the mire, and set me in the right way, wherein I should walk.

And now in the sence of the springings up of the love of God in my soule, do I call unto all you males and females, who have been convinced, and have believed the truth as it is in Iesus, and have been put to flight, either in the winter season, or on the sabbath day, and have erred and gone astray from the way of the Lord, and are wandering in the dark holes and corners, and by-paths of strife and envy, amongst the hills and mountaines of Imaginations, crying out the glory and power of God is lost, but that he will reveal and make it manifest in ages and generations to come: The man Moses is lost, and gone out of your sight, and you have made you Gods of gold and of silver to go before you, which can neither save nor deliver you, but you are Lost up and down by the will of your old adversary the devill. Come, cast away your Idols of gold and of silver, to the moules and to the batts, for of a truth the glory and power of God is risen, but, in the dark holes and corners and by-paths of strife and discord, you cannot see it: therefore is my call unto you, that you would stand still and be quiet, and incline your hearts dilli­gently, and see if you cannot hear the voice of him that Cryes behind, this is the way; and if you hear it, tho it be never so small and low, turn your faces towards it and follow it, of a certain it will lead you home to your tents where you may set down in quietness and stilness and ceas from your toile and travell, which you have while you are among the hills and mountaines of your Imaginations, where there is nothing but barrenness and leanness of soule: and so keeping at home in quietness and stilness, you will feel and see the glorious powerfull arm of the Lord God reaching forth towards the judging, and subduing your enemies under your feet, and to strengthen and renew a right Spirit in you, and so you will come to live in the sence of the Love of God springing again up in your soules, and so your soules will come to be fed and nourished with bread from heaven, Therefore come away be no longer straglers and lingrers behind but follow him who is the good shepheard who tho he has hundreds of sheep and looses but one, he will go into the mountaines to seek him, and if he find him he will lay him on his shoulders and bring him home and fold him among his lambes, but if you will run on and will not stand still to hear his voice, and follow him then will you dye and perish forever in your gain sayings, Therefore as you tender the good and welfare of your Immortall soules be quiet, and stand still, and let the power of the Lord God work its effects in you, and bring you home to himself that you may enjoy everlasting rest and peace with him, which is the desire of my soule, who am your friend

JOHN DANKS.
Written in the 4 Moneth. 1680.
FINIS.

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