GReat, unutterably great, O ye Inhabitants, is the Love of God which flowes in my heart towards you, and in bowels of unspeakable compassion, am I opened, am I enlarged unto you, in the sight and sense of your conditions, which the Lord hath discovered and revealed unto Me. O that your eyes were opened, that ye might see, and behold, this Day of the Lord, and that your ears were unstop­ed to hear His voice, that cryeth aloud, and calleth One and All of you to Repentance; and that your hearts were softened, & enclyned to discerne and perceive this blessed hour of His present Visitation, which is come unto you. He hath lifted up a Standard in the midst of you, and among your Brethren; He hath called already a Remnant, and inrolled them un­der His Banner, and he is calling All to come, he hath not left one without a witness: Bles­sed are they that receave Him, and hear him in this day of his appearance. He hath sent forth, and is daily sending forth his Servants and Messengers, to invite you to come and partake with Him of the Supper, of the Feast which he hath prepared; and among many others, whom at sundrie times he hath caused to sound sorth His Testimony: I also have in the Name and Power and Authority of God, proclaimed his everlasting Gospel among you, and preached, and held forth the glade tydings of this glorious dispensation, which is Christ manifesting and revealing himself in and by his Light and Spirit in the hearts of all men, to lead them out of all unrighteousness, and filtheness, both of Flesh and Spirit; unto all righteousness, truth, holyness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. But because many of you have dispysed this Day, and as ye have made mirry over Gods witness in your hearts, not liking there to entertaine Him in his meek, lowly, yet lovely appearance; so have ye despysed, mocked and rejected, that which testifieth to this witness without you. Therefore was I commanded of the Lord God, to pass through your streets covered with Sack-cloath and Ashes, calling you to repentance, that ye might yet more be awakned, & alarumed to take notice of the Lords Voice unto you, and not to despyse these things which belong to your peace, while your day lasteth, least hereafter they be hid from your eyes. And the command of the Lord concerning this thing, came unto me that very morning, as I awakened, and the burden thereof was very great; Yea, seemed al­most insupportible unto me, (for such a thing untill that very moment, had never entered me before, not in the most remote consideration) And some whom I called to declare to them this thing, can bear witness, how great was the agonie of my Spirit, how I besought the Lord with tears, that this Cup might pass away from me: Yea, how the pillars of my Tabernacle were shaken, and how exceedingly my bones trembled, untill I freely gave up unto the Lords will. And this was the end and tendency of my testimony, to call you to Repentance, by this signal and singular step, which I as to my own will and inclination, was as unwilling to be [Page 2] found in, as the worst and wickedest of you, can be averse from receiving, or laying it to heart. Let all and every one of you in whom there is yet alive the least regard to God, or his fear, consider and weigh this matter in the presence of God▪ and by the Spirit of Jesus Christ in your hearts, which makes all things manifest, search and examine every one his own Soul, how far this warning and voice of the Lord is aplicable unto them, and how great need they have to be truely humbled in their Spirits? Returning to the Lord in their inward parts, with such true and unfeinged Repentance as answers to the outward cloathing of Sack cloath, and being covered with Ashes. And in the Fear and Name of the Lord, I charge all upon this occasion, to bewarr of a slight, froathie, jearing, mocking spirit, for though such may be per­mitted to insult for a season, yet God will turn their laughter into howling, and will laugh when their calamity cometh; and such are seen to be in one spirit with those who spat in the face of the LORD JESVS, and buffeting him, bid him prophesie who smote him. Therefore consider, O Ye Inhabitants, and be serious, standing in fear; Where are ye who are called Christians? A­mong whom it is become a wonder, A stone of stumbling, or matter of mockrie, or a ground of re­proach, for one in the Name of the LORD, to invite you to Repentance in Sackcloath and Ashes: Would not the Heathen condemne you in this thing? And will not Niniveh stand up in judge­ment against you? How is it that ye that are called Christians, can willingly give room to every idle Mountebank, and can suffer your minds to be drawn out to behold these sinful di­vertisments, which indeed divert the mind from the serious sense of Gods fear? The people can be gathered there, and neither the Magistrats complaine of tumult, nor yet Preachers nor Professors cry out against it as delusion, or madness. O my Friends consider, can there be any more strongly deluded, then for people daily to acknowledge and confess they are sinners, and sinning, in words; and to startle at that which did so lively represent unto them, what they owne to be their condition▪ Were it in good earnest, or were it from a true sense of your sins, that ye so frequently seem to acknowledge them, ye would not dispyse, nor overlook that which calleth you to repentance for it. How is it that you can so confidently array your selves in all manner of gaudy, and superflous Apparel, and exceed in lustful pouderings and per­fumes, and yet are ashamed and amazed at Sackcloath and Ashes; which according to your own acknowledgement, is so sutable to your states? Is not this to glory in your shame, and to be ashamed of that which ought to be, and would be your greatest glory, to wit, true and un­feinged Repentance. I shal add that which upon this occasion I declared unto you; I was for a Sign from the Lord unto you, I desire ye may not be among those that wonder and perish, but ra­ther repent and be saved. And this is my Testimony unto you, whither you will hear or forbear, I have peace with my God in what I have done, and am satisfied that his requirings I have an­swered in this thing. I have not sought yours but you, I have not coveted your gold or silver, or any thing else; nor do I retaine, or entertaine the least hatered, grude, or evil-will towards any within or without your gates, but continue in pure and unfeinged love towards all and every one of you, even those who do most dispise or reject me, and my Testimony, be­ing ready to bless those that curse, and to do good to those that dispitfully use me, and to be spent in the will of the Lord for your sakes, that your souls may be saved, and God over all may be glorified; for which I travel, and cry before the Throne of Grace, as becometh

THe Premisses, and Queries following upon them, being all one on the matter, the first being positions in general, and the other the particular application of them hereto, they need not different an­swers, both of them are herein comprehended and implyed, as any that will be at the pains to look af­ter the Queries, and compare them, may observe.

To the first is therefore answered.

1. R. B. Denyes his Message to have proceeded from any Light or Illumination in him as a man, but from the immediate Testimonie of the Spirit of God, in his heart a manifestation of which Spirit is given to every man to profit withal, accord­nig to the plaine testimonie of the Scriptures, 1. Cor. 12, 7. 1. Iohn 2. 20. 27. Heb 8 10. 11. 12. The which Spirit, and Anointing teaches all the Saints under the New Covenant, whereunto an audible voice is not required for this is said to be within them, and not without them, nor can it be proven that God spoke alwayes to the Prophets by an audible voice, or that such a thing is requisite to every true Revelation, receaved from the Spirit, els none could be truly certaine that the Scriptures came from the Spirit of God, untill they received an audible voice by the outward ear, confirming them of it, nor could any have the assurance of Salvation without the same, both which the generalitie of Protestants hold needful to Believers, and Cal. Inst. lib. 1. cap. 7 sect. 4. cap. 8, Sect 1. lib. 3. cap, 1, sect. 4. cap. 3. sect. 39. that by the inward, secret testimonie of the Spirit, without an audible voice. Nor was Iohn Hus [Page 4] his prophesie of Luther, or George Wisharts of the Cardinals death alleadged to have proceeded from an outward audible voice, and yet proved both true. As likwise several others of latter years, which might be mentioned.

2. A Message thus delivered from the Testimonie of the Spirit of God in the heart, reaches to the manifestation of the same Spirit. in the hearts of those to whom it is delivered, if they wilfully do not resist and shut it out. Thus the Ninivits were reached at the call of Ionah, and those who heard Peter, were pricked in their hearts; yet neither the one or the other had such an immediate particular call as Ionah and Peter had, but the testimonie of the Spirit through these two, touched, reached, and raised that of God in their hearts, and made it applicable unto them. Yet those that dispise this Light, and manifestation of God in themselves, may come to jeer, and mock at a message proceeding from it, through another, even as the Scribs and Pharisees did at Christ; and therefore were worthie of condemnation, and judged by the Heathen, such as Tyre and Sidon, and Ninivie, even as it is with those of the same spirit at this day, who while they cry up the writtings of the Prophets, & other Scripturs, (as did the Pharisees) are dispysing Prophesying, or the teaching, or leadings of the Spirit, which the Apostle decla­red to be the nature of the New Covenant dispensation; and therefore no wonder if according to the Scripture Pro. 28. 18. where there is no Vision the people perish.

3. The Assisters to this Action, having had the thing declaired unto them, retiering to the inward Testimonie of the same Spirit in themselves, did feell union therewith, and such as went along, did not onlie find a true liberty (which might have sufficed) but some of them a neces­sitie to concurr with it. And as for the carrying of the Hat and Cloak, it was altogether ex­trinsick, being neither essential nor circumstantial to the thing, nor so looked upon by these who did it: Yet the carping thereat shewes in the proposer, a critical mind, very void of se­riousness, which the Lord, as of purpose to starve, hath permitted him to build that part of the Querie in relation to A. H. wife upon a false report, the thing being a manifest untruth.

And in answere to the second proposition of the premisses, its the alone immediate testimo­nie of the Spirit of God, that can truly discover all false pretenders and delusions, which if any can, let them deny, without overturning the Basis of all Christian Religion, and ren­dering the faith of the Saints in all ages uncertaine.