To the camp of the Lord in England

To the camp of the Lord in England

Table of contents

TO THE CAMP OF The Lord, IN ENGLAND.

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TO THE CAMP OF The Lord, IN ENGLAND.

TO all you called, chosen, elected and beloved of the Lord, who are of the circumcision made without hands, of the feed of Abraham: who are Jewes indeed nor after the flesh but in the spirit; unto whom belongs the euerlasting promise and couenant, whom God hath and is fulfilling in you, so establishing with you: We your fellow-Citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem which is the mother of us all; and of the same body, and of the same seed, and same birth, begotten and brought forth by the immortall word of life which lives for ever, do send greeting, and doe embrace you in the arms of our beloued, who [Page] is and is to come God blessed for ever; you who are called Quakers: who are so not onely in word nor in shew, but in life and in power: whom God hath called and chosen to place his name in, and to take up his habitation among: above all the families of the Earth the Tabernacle of God is with you, and his dwelling-place is among you, and only among you is God known, and his name is great in your Assemblies.

We who are of the same root and off-spring, doth bring in our witness, and doth set to our seale, That God of a truth is with you and among you: and he is the God of the living that answers by fire: he is I am, and there is none besides him: the first and the last, the beginning and the end of all things.

Praise him for ever yee redeemed of him: lift up your heads your Redeemer is come: clap your hands and shout for ioy, and let the everlasting praises of God be in your mouths for ever and ever. Exalt yee his name above all Gods, and glorifie him in the sight of all the Heathen and let his marvellous works stand upon Record from generation to generation.

Wonderfull hath his work been among you, and that my soule knowes right well: You that were scattered in thecloudy and dark day, and were a prey for the wild beasts of the Forrest, and were driven away as lost sheep in the wilderness, hath God gathered into the fould, to lay down by the springs of living water in fat pastures for evermore.

Your bread is sure▪ and your waters never failes: a feast of fat things is made unto you, of wines well refined: the Lord is become the Lot of your inheritance, and the portion of your Cup for ever:

Your Crowns have you laid down at the feet of the [Page] Lamb: and your lives and liberties have not been dear unto you: and let this never repent you, for now the Lord will exalt you and Crown you with immortall glory The everlasting day star is risen among you, which gives light unto the Nations: and the light of the Sun is as the light of seven dayes: and there is no need of a candle in your dwelling, but the Lamb is the light thereof; faire as the Sun, and clear as the Moon: yea it is he which was dead, and is alive, and behold he lives for evermore. Praise him all ye people, praise ye him ye holy Host, let all that hath breath praise him for ever. VVho can expresse his Noble acts? and who can declare his wondrous works? Oh my soule is ravished, and my heart is overcome; let me speak that I may be refreshed, and let me declare his wonders among all people.

The Lord is our King, our Judge, and our Law-giver, and our Rock of defence; Just is he in his Judgements, who hath avenged us of our Enemies: Mercy and Judgement meet, righteousnesse and peace doth embrace each other: Rejoyce for evermore ye Saints of the most High, and tell it to your Children, that they may tell it to another Generation, what hath the Lord wrought among you, and what hath his hand brought to passe. Salvation is come, and plenteous Redemption, and the dead hath heard the voyce of the Son of God and liveth.

Let sorrow and mourning, fly away, and be ye comforted ye that have mourned, and be ye refreshed ye that have been weary; for God hath opened the everlasting fountain, and the streams runs pleasantly, which refresheth the City of our God. He is come and his reward is with him, even he for whom we have waited, this is he who is our life, our peace and our exceeding great reward; the light of the world our Saviour, but the worlds condemner; our peace [Page] but the worlds torment: glad tidings, glad tidings, the acceptable year is come: praise ye the Lord ye Sons and daughters of Sion, beautifull is your dwelling place, and aboundeth with pleasant fruit, for you are digged and pruned and enclosed a Garden of lovely branches: let the wonders of the Lord never be forgotten, nor his works neuer passe out of your remembrance, for he hath wounded and healed, killed and made aliue, raised the dead and slain the liuing, brought out of captiuity and bound with chains, gathered and scattered, brought low and exalted, saved, and condemned; all this hath your eye seen, and your ear heard: and the Heavens and the Earth hath been burned as a scroule, and the indignation of the Lord you have born: But the winter is past, and the summer is come, and the Turtle dove, and the singing of Birds is heard in our Land. O magnifie his name for ever; you are made vessels of honour wherein the everlasting treasure abideth, which never waxeth old: the voyce of the Bridegroom is heard among you, and how can you have any more sorrow: instead of weeping reioycing, and instead of heauinesse of heart fullness of euerlasting joy: the Lord hath fulfilled his promise, and made good his word, and his Law and Couenant is with you: and from you doth the Law goe forth▪ and the powerfull word of life, and death soundeth out of your dwelling, and you are Gods only witnesses to testifie of him in the presence of all Nations, some of you by suffering, and some by declaring: Oh endless loue, and life, and riches, an eternall Crown is upon your heads, and your suffering (which hath not been a little) is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is and shal be reuealed. I speak to you who hath an ear, to hear, my soule and heart is comforted in you, in the midst of my burdens and sufferings, who is separated from you outwardly, yet ioyned [Page] and united to you by the Spirit which is unlimited, which all Nations doth comprehend: yea I behold your beauty a far off and my heart is ravished withit, and I am sick of love: let his works praise him for ever, which hee hath wrought, for his dwelling is with you in the light unto which no mortall eye can approach.

The new Ierusalem is come down from Heaven, and no unclean can enter: but you are made white with the blood of the Lamb, and purged as silver, and purified as gold in the burning and unto you an entrance is given, and the way is prepared, and the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made her self ready, and the way of the Lord is pleasant to you, and his commands are not grievous; no unclean thing can passe over, nor no Lyons whelps can tread therein, but it is called the way of holinesse, where only the ransomed of the Lord do walk; even your mountain is established upon the top of all hills, and all Nations shall flow unto it. Sing praises for ever, for the kingdome of endless peace is come, which passeth understaning, and of glory, which no mortall eye can behold, and of life which no flesh can live in. Oh my beloved, come up hither and I will shew you what God hath done for you, he hath rebuked the Sea and driven back the floods of waters which compassed you about, & he hath scattered your enemies with a whirlwind and he hath given you to feed upon the flesh of Kings, and of Captaines. Can you call to mind the doings of your God, and his marvellous works brought to passe, and not cry out in praises for evermore; O drink and be refreshed, and eat and be satisfied for ever, and let your soul delight it self in fatness; the planting of the Lord you are, and his own purchased possession, he hath separated you from the womb, and hath called you out of kindreds, and ye are the Royall seed, of the off-spring of the Lord Almighty, and all Nations shall call you blessed,

[Page] And O thou North of England, who art counted as desolate and barren, and reckoned the least of the Nations, yet out of thee did the branch spring, and the Star arise which gives light unto all the Regions round about; in thee the Son of Righteousness appeared, with wounding and with healing: and out of thee the terror of the Lord proceeded, which makes the earth to tremble and be removed: out of thee Kings, Princes & Prophets did come forth in the name and power of the most High, which uttered their voyces as thunders, and laid their swords on the neck of their enemies and never returned empty from the slaughter. Though I be as by the waters of Babylon, in a strange land; and as a Pilgrim and Stranger destitute, but not forsaken; as dying, but behold I live: yet if I forget thee let my right hand forget her cunning, and let my name be blotted out of the book of life. O how I love the holy seed which in my eye is precious! no man can hinder my boasting of thee, for I am sealed among you in the Record of eternal life, to bee read among you in the light where I am known to you, and where my unity stands with you in the love and life, which never changes, and you are my mother and my brother and sister who doth the will of my Father. Our God is a consuming fire, and his habitation is compast about with dread and terror. The Heathen shall see and fear, and the inhabitants of the earth shall tremble; our God is everlasting burnings, and it is tempestuous round about his throne, and he reignes for evermore; and though thou be despised and set at nought and counted as the off-scouring of all things, and the scorn of the Heathen, yet thy King reigns upon Mount Sion, and if he utter his voice all flesh shall tremble, and before him thy adversaries shall fall, and thy persecutors shall be confounded, for thou shalt never be forgotten of thy God, but with his arm wil he defend thee, and compass [Page] thee about, and thy seed shall be increased, and thou Ierusalem shalt be made the praise of the whole earth, for among you is laid the sure foundation, and the tryed stone, Christ Jesus the light of the world, upon whom you have believed, which unto the Nations is a stumbling stone; but unto you precious: bring in your testimony, and set to your seal; is there salvation in any other, but in him who is the light of the world? nay there is no redemption wrought but by him, nor no deliverance but through him; his is the Kingdome, the Power and the glory, and he is become all in all; and you are no more of this world, but are of the chosen generation, and of the royal Priesthood, a people, Redeemed, unto whom there is none like among the thousands of Israel and Iudah, whose God is the Lord, whose Saviour is the Prince of Righteousness, who covers your heads in the day of Battel; and smites your enemies in the hinder parts; and wounds them in the fore-head.

And now my beloved, let his name be had in remembrance for evermore, and let his praises be declared throughout Ages to come, and walk you worthy of his everlasting love, wherewith he hath loved you more then your brethren; let his name be exalted by righteousness, by purity, and by a blameless life, and bring forth the fruits of righteousness and peace, and let yout light shine forth into the world, and your good works abound plentifully, for you are as a City set on a hill, and as a lighted candle to shine abroad; and are created unto good works. Let faith, hope, love and unity be increased among you; and let mercy and judgement and equity flow down and be established for ever; never to be removed. Let joy, and long-suffering and meekness and temperance spring out; and be you perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

Stand upon your watch Tower and bee not shaken nor [Page] dr [...]w [...] aside to follow any other Gods, nor to bow to any [...] Image, nor joyn your selves to strangers, and mingle not your seed with the adulterous generation, nor take not nor give not in marriage with them; but keep your selves from the Idols of the heathen, be not defiled with them; but abide in your strength, you know where it lies, by which you may work good, and be preserved from evil; and you need not that any man teach you, for you are taught of God, and are far from oppression.

Ye children of light, worship your God for ever, who is light, and in him is no darkness at all, who is the same and changes not, whose mercy endures for ever. Be followers of the Lamb as undefiled Virgins, and let your soul scorn the glory of Babylon and Aegypt for ever; for you are not your own, but are bought with a price, no more to serve your selves, but the Lord of Israel for ever.

Put on your Armour, and gird on your Sword, and lay hold on the spear, & march into the field, and prepare your selves to battel, for the Nations doth defie our God, and saith in their heart, Who is the God of the Quakers, that we should fear him, and obey his voice? Arise, arise, and sound forth the everlasting word of war and judgment in the ears of all Nations; sound an Alarum, and make their ears to tingle. Our Enemies are whole Nations, and multitudes in number, of a rebellious people that will not come under our law, which ariseth up against us, and will not have our King to reigne, but tramples his honour under foot, and despises his law and his statutes, and counteth his subjects as slaves and bond-men. Stand upon your feet, and appear in your terror as an Army with banners, and let the nations know your power, and the stroke of your hand: cut down on the right hand, and slay on the left, and let not your eye pitty, nor your hand spare, but wound the lofty, and [Page] under foot the honourable of the Earth, and give unto the great Whore double, and give her no rest day nor night, but as she hath done, so let it be done unto her; and give her double into her bosome: as she hath loved blood, so give her blood, and dash her children against the stones, and let none of the Heathen nations, nor their Gods escape out of your hands, nor their images nor idols, but lay waste the fenced Cities, and tread down the high Walls; for we have proclaimed open War betwixt Michael our Prince, and the Dragon. Your Captains are mighty men, and your leaders are skilled to handle the sword, and they are riding on before you. Arise worm Iacob, and fear not, but thresh the mountains to dust; for God hath given thee the power of thy enemies to tread upon, and they shal flie before thee, & shalt fall by thy sword; there is none too strong for thee, nor no inchantment against thee; but thou art blessed, blessed world without end. Therefore all ye Lambs of my Father, and ye Camp of the Lords Host, wait upon him to fulfil his Will, for he hath put into your hearts to make war in righteousness against the beast & the false Prophet; and cursed be every one that riseth not up to the help of the Lord against the mighty: the Beast is mighty; and the false Prophet is great; and they keep the Nations under their power. But O thou Beast, and thou false Prophet, you shall be tormented together: thou Beast, upon which the false Prophet sits, whom thou upholds by thy Law, and defends by thy unrighteous power, thy power is limited, and it shall betaken from thee, and thou shalt be overcome, and the Lamb shall get the victory, and into the pit and lake of fire shall you be turned to have your resting place.

And thou false Prophet which hath deceived the Nations, and scattered the inhabitants thereof, and builded by fraud, and daubed with untempered morter; thy Judgment [Page] is past upon thy head already, and the Decree of our God is sealed against thee; thy smoke shal ascend for ever and ever; and of thy sin there is no forgiveness, nor of thy torment no remission. Over you do we (and shall for ever) rejoyce and sing, and over your God and your King, the Dragon that old Serpent; cursed be he, and his memorial for ever.

Ye Lambs of the true Shepheards fold, with whom my soul resteth, whether ever I behold you outwardly, yet my heart is with you, and I am one of your fold, and I lye down with you under the shadow of the rock, upon the Mountain which the beast cannot touch, where we are safe from all our enemies, and am to you wel known, to be read in your hearts, in the Record of the Lambs Book of Life, and known only to the world by the name of

Edward Burrough.

Written at Dublin City in Ireland.

To the Camp of the Lord in England.

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TO all the seed of Abraham, who are Iews indeed, and Israelites in whom is no guile; who are of the true circumcision, made without hands: Who are of the off-spring of David, and of the Church of the first-born; who are the first fruits unto God: Ye royal off-spring of the Rock of Ages, who have come out of the everlasting washing; My dear Brethren, called Quakers, who have eaten your bread with fear and trembling, whom your Brethren hath cast out, Oh how I love you; my soul is knit unto you, my heart and life breaths after you; I am one with you in suffering, and in joy; ye are the choicest of the Flock, ye are the fairest of all the children which is brought forth, Oh my beloved ones, though I be among the Tents of Kedar, as without, where the Voice of the Lord hath neither been heard nor known, it you I forget not, if I do, let the tongue cleave to the roofe of my mouth, and let me never speak more in the Name of the Lord, who is my life, and the portion of my cup for ever. Oh! what shall I say unto you? none knows your beauty, nor innocencie, nor glory, but them who are redeemed out of Kindreds, and Nations, and Tongues, and People, and Countries, who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. For the name of my God and your God, who is living and lives for evermore, is in your foreheads; you are his off-spring, and the fruit that came out of the Eternal Womb, begotten by the Eternal Word of life which lives for ever; and are nourished at the eternal Table, in the everlasting Mansion-house of my Father which is in Heaven. None so fair; none so beautiful; none so glorious, none so rich; you are crowned with love for ever; you are clothed with righteousness for ever; you eat of the Tree of life which heals the nations, and of the bread of life that nourishes you up for ever; & drinks of the [Page] living Waters, which runs fresh, beautiful, and coole, in it you are bathed and suppled, and made white; you are builded upon a Rock, storms cannot move you, tempests cannot make you afraid; in this you have been, and are like to be tryed: Your Armour is righteousness on the right hand, and on the left your City is free: The Gates stand open day and night; and a Wolf, nor Lyon, nor any beast can enter; no, not so much as a flying-Fowle. Oh how goodly is thy Tents, O thou seed of Iacob. the Elect whom he hath chosen! O how pleasant is your scituation! The Tower of David, Mount Sion stands sure, and cannot be moved. Oh! who is a people like unto you, saved by our God that lives for ever! His love is large; he is kinde; he is long-suffering; he is faithful and keeps covenant, and his Promises are Yea: Yea: He is the Amen, the first and the last. Come forth my dear brethren, set forth his praise, declare his name among the heathen; publish his name among the Congregations; let the earth be filled with his love and power, that his Judgements may be declared, and his Statutes, that they sound in the ears of generations to come.

O ye that are convinced of the truth of our God, wait in that which doth convince, and keep your mindes to it, & love it, and follow it whither it leads you, and it will lead you to know the gift of God, which leads to repentance from dead works to serve the living God, who dwells in the immortal Light: and take heed of looking back at the pleasures of sin you have formerly lived in, but wait upon the pure light of Christ Jesus in patience, that so you may see the enmity which is against God, and it slain in you daily; that so you may see him that is the Saviour of the soul: and take heed of rebelling against the Lord, who hath given you a measure of his true light, to lead you from sin [Page] if you love it unto righteousness, from whence it comes, even from the righteous Judge of all the world; who judgeth every man out of the book of his conscience: and so prize the everlasting love of God to your souls, that you may see him who lives for ever.

And all Babes who are born again, who have suffered the pangs of death, and know the indignation of the Lord against sin, and the terror of the Lord against the man of sin; who have roared for the disquietness of your-hearts; who have born the indignation of the Lord, and are come to the giving forth of the Law, where there is thundring, and Earth-quakes, and terror, and great hail, and fire, and smoke, even such as was not since the beginning, in somuch that you could not hear his Voice and live, nor see his face and live.

Stand still in patience, and let it have its perfect work in you, and bear the indignation, ye that are in it; if you endure the tribulation with patience, hope you will see, and a time of refreshment will come: endure the cross that the mortal, and earthly, and carnal may be judged, and the ground shaken and taken away, and that you may see the liuing hope to stay your mindes upon.

And ye who are enliuened, and doth witness the Law of righteousness set up in you, which is a Schoolmaster, and keeps in the fear, stand in it, and keep in the fear low, in soberness and calmness; and then you will see your hearts purified daily, and the cursed nature judged, which is out of its course, and it bridled and subjected: and the Law which is pure, and holy and eternal, which stands for euer in power and force against the transgressor, to judge all Righteousness: and so wait that you may see the Lyon tamed, and the wilde Heifer yoked, and the yoke of Christ born: and the wilde colt tamed by him, upon [Page] which never man sate before: then; and not till then is Hosanna sung.

And all wait in your measures, dear Babes, that the milk of the Word you may see, and be nourished by it, and grow up as living branches about the Table of the Lord.

And all you yong men and Virgins, that know Virginity, keep your Virgin, you in whom the Prince of this world is judged and cast out: and the righteous law of God revealed and given forth, in which you stand and walk and hath peace from him who is the Law-giver and Judge; who hath saved you from your iniquities, and blotted out your sins for his own Name sake: You who knows the living Water and Spirit, of which you are born again, and witnesses the birth which enters into the Kingdome of God, where no mortal or unclean beast can come. Keep in the life and power of God, which limits all, and chains all under, that the life of the Son of God may live and speak in you, and be bold: In the dread of God stand, and that which leads into slavery keep out.

And now being made partakers of his everlasting love, walk worthy of his love, and of the high calling whereunto you are called; who hath created you in Christ Jesus, unto holiness and righteousness for ever; that to the praise of his grace which you are saved by, by which you have obtained the remission of sins, and an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified: So wait in the living Hope, and the living Faith, in which God is well pleased, in which you ask and receive of him, and are accepted of our heavenly Father. And this Faith ye know, which is a present power, and a shield against all temptations, and a Helmet, and as a Fortress by which you are preserved, safe standing in it, and putting it on in the day of trial.

[Page] My dear Brethren of the everlasting Kindred, and Heirs of the everlasting Promise; wait all in patience, having received an earnest of the inheritance that never fades away; to the end abide in the Fathers counsel, and at Wisdom's gate. Ye know what I say I write not unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know and are made free in your measures by him who is the Truth and the Way; in which all our fathers, and you also have obtained a good Report, even of all the houshold of Faith: and take heed of the glory of the World, and look not at hardship; for verily all the suffering is nor worthy to be compared to that glory which is revealed, and to be revealed unto all that wait and abide in patience and faithfulness unto the end; but be ye as good souldiers, endure hardship, that you may receive the end of your hope, and the euerlasting prize, and the purchased possession, and the Crown of glory, which God will give unto you in his own day; which is coming on towards you, if you continue in the hope, in the faith, and in the love unfeigned, which thinks no ill: by which, and in which love we have Victory ouer the Grave, Sin and Death; which he hath freely shedabroad in our hearts, unto whom be everlasting Praise for ever and ever: To him which was dead, and is aliue, and liues for euermore, the Mediator of the new Gouenant of life and peace, in which we haue access freely to the Throne of grace, and are accepted in him who is the condemnation of all the World, who hate the light; but your life the light of the world; God blessed for ever and ever.

And all you Fathers, and Elders, and honorable Women, who are not a few, whose bones and sinews are filled with marrow and fatness, who wait at the Altar of the Lord, and knows the Merey-seat, which hath ouershadowed you; and the golden Vessel in which is the hidden [Page] Manna, by which all the children of the Lord are fed round the Table of the Lord, out of the euerlasting treasure-house of my Father.

Watch ouer the Flock of Christ Jesus in euery place, and region and quarter where the Lord hath set you, and gouern them in all wisdom and righteousness, that the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ may be adorned. And take care of them willingly, knowing this the Lord requires of you, and hath called you unto; and to nourish the plants, and the young ones, and the babes: and that every one may know their place, and watch and instruct in all wisdom, and correct and reprove in the name and power of our Lord Jesus, that no rebellious nor sloathfull may grow up nor be harboured among you; but all in diligence may be kept in the fear of the Lord in their places, that the Gospel of Christ Jesus be not evill spoken of, nor the heathen blaspheme.

And therefore my dear brethren, be diligent in the work of the Lord, so much the more as you see the day is approached: and the Harvest is great, and the Vineyard of the Lord is great and large, and but few labourers: yea, the Lord is enlarging his borders, and spreading forth his everlasting truth, and stretching forth his eternal arm over the Nations, and opening the treasures of Heaven, and bringing rain out of his Treasury, to water the earth that hath been parched and dry, and to make his plants to grow.

And so all wait, that you may see the power and presence of the Lord in all your assemblies: and see that there be no strife, nor contention, nor exaltation amongst you, but all in meekness, and quietness, and long-suffering, and forbearance, even as the Lord hath spared and forborn you: one submitting unto another, even as you have heard and received [Page] when the word of the Lord came first unto you: and he that will be the greatest shall be the least: but all in meekness and lowliness of minde serve one another, in love even as you have received: and the everlasting God of life and power be with you all, and make you grow in the living power and virtue of God: to order all things in his wisdom, as good Stewards of the manifold mercies of the Lord which you are made partakers of; that he alone may be glorified throughout all the Churches of Christ Jesus every where.

And to you my dear brethren and fellow-labourers, unto whom the word of Reconciliation is committed, and are in the work and Ministry of our Lord Iesus Christ, and are made partakers of the everlasting Gospel of peace, which unto you is given to declare. Lift up your voyces, blow the Trumpet, sound an alarum out of the holy mountain; proclaim the acceptable yeer, and the day of vengeance of our God. Gird on your sword upon your loins, put on the tryed Armour; and follow him for ever who rides upon the white Horse, and is clothed with the same, who makes war in righteousness: Ride on, ride on my beloved brethren and fellow-souldiers; make all plain before you: thresh on with the new threshing instrument which hath teeth beat the mountains to dust, and let the breath of the Lord scatter it: make the heathen tremble, and the uncircumcised fall by the sword: the Lord of hosts is with us, and goes before us.

Spare none, neither Ox nor Asse; neither old nor young; kil; cut off; destroy; bath your sword in the blood of Amaleck and all the Egyptians and Philistines, and all the uncircumcised, and hew Agag to pieces: break the Rocks, cut down the Cedars and strong Oaks, make the Devills subject; cast out the unclean spirits; raise the dead: shut [Page] up in prison, bring out of prison: cast in your nets, lanch into the deep, divide the fish, gather the good into vessels, cast the bad away: binde the Tares in bundles, cast them into the fire: the Angel with his sharp sickle is come, the Angel of the everlasting Covenant is come: thrust in your sickles, reap the earth, the word of God is come, that divides, let all flesh keep silence, divide the Word rightly, feed the Lambs and Babes, fill the hungry, stop the Lyons mouthes: feed the fat and the strong with plagues and judgements: declare his name, publish his eternal truth which shall stand for ever.

Eternal life is come, glory to him for ever. Silence all disputers and diviners for ever: trample upon all the chaff and dung, and mire for ever, which all the wisdom of the World feeds upon, Greater is he that is in us, then he that is in the World.

Oh my beloved ones! although I am the lowest and weakest among many of my brethren, yet the eternal power of God is my shield for ever, the Lord of hosts is with us. There is a Crown which none can take away, to all who have denyed all: yea, it is on your heads: the dread of God is with us: and truly dear brethren, we cannot say that we fished and catched nothing, for many vessels are sull: nor we have not travelled and laboured and brought forth winde, as the false Prophets do: for we have the seals of our Ministry, which shall be witnesses for the Lord in generations to come. Not unto us O Lord, but to thy name be glory for ever: who hath done, and doth all for us, and in us: who is our strength, our glory, our Crown of rejoycing all the day long; for his hidden treasure is brought forth and made manifest in earthen vessels: unto him be eternal living praises for ever.

And so all dear brethren, members of the same body [Page] of Christ Jesus, by which we are set free from sin in the liberty, life and power in which you are made free, stand as witnesses for the Lamb, and for the holy Nation, for the royal Seed of the true Israel of God, that it may be brought out of captivity, to serve the Lord in the land of the living, and the eternal God of power and life, of endless rich love and mercy, be with you all, and prosper his own work in your hands, that he alone may be glorified: unto whom be eternal, insinite praises, who is our life; our King, God blessed for ever and ever.

And to you all my dear brethren and sisters, who suffers in bonds, and prisons, and dens, and holes, and suffers the Enemy to plow long surrows upon your backs, in patience; and suffers stocking, whipping, buffetting, beating, and cruel mocking and stripes, and chains, and fetters, whom the world is not worthy of: even as they did unto our Master of whom we bear witness of, and hath the witness in our selves; even so do they unto us: But the servant is not greater then his Lord, and therefore we that are baptized for the dead, and stand in jeopardy of our lives often; we have a cloud of witnesses which endured the same: and therefore the same baptism and the same cup must be drunk by all that follow him. Well my dear brethren, your sufferings I know, and I know he of whom you bear witdess, bears up your heads, who hath called you thereunto; above all that which is done unto you, as you stand in his will and counsel; well as dear brethren and companions in the same tribulation, and kingdome, and patience of the Saints, as witnesses of the same faith as they were which are gone before you; you are made partakers of the same: it is made manifest and revealed in you by the same God in which faith they had power, and you have power, and endures as they did, and as he did, even the contradiction of sinners.

[Page] Well our God is on our side, and takes our part, and therefore my own bowels in patience endure, God will bring forth your righteousness as the Sun, and your Enemies shall be ashamed: and I know, and you also know it is for the advantage and the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ; and endure in patience and long-suffering, and look not out; and the Lord in due time will enlarge your border. And the eternal God of power be with you chosen ones, for the Lords work you shall have your reward; Nay he is come, and his reward is with him: I know you have it, and witness his power and his presence with you: so my dear ones, in that which limits all, and chains all, and keeps under all deceit, dwell and abide for ever in the living power which makes the strong man bow down, and the Devils tremble, and the unclean spirits roar; and the power you know, where is your life, that all the powers of death cannot reach; and therefore doth the potsheards of the earth strive in vain to set briars and thorns in battel against him, in vain do they rage; for notwithstanding all that, God hath set and will set his own Son upon the holy hill of Sion, glory unto him for ever; shout out for joy oh ye sufferers for him; who are set free by him, and your freedom can none take away: for he is greater then all, even him in whom ye have beleeved, standing in his power, wisdom and councel, who is neer you, that none is able to pluck you out of his hand: for he hath the keyes of David, who opens and none shuts, and bindes and none can loose: even he who rebukes the windes and seas, and they obey him, and causes a great calme: and causes the waters to abate, nay to stand of a heap: and dries up the tongue of the Egyptian Sea, that his ransomed ones may go over into the rest, and he that hath and doth believe in him, is entred into the rest, where we all meet in [Page] one in him who is the Judge of all the world; the light of the world; and our life; who believe in his name; but the condemnation of all the world who walk in unrighteousnes for ever and ever.

For with the pure & upright he dwells, and his throne is established in righteousness for ever and ever: and unto our God who lives for ever shall all the powers of the earth bow; to whom be glory and eternal praise of all his redeemed ones for ever and ever.

F. H.

§

§

O All ye Sons of Sion, and ye daughters of the King, who is glorious within, who have waited for the Bridegroom; Oh my beloved ones! you who have long sitten in a solitary place, and have been as a silly Dove without a heart, & hath bin as a widow desolate, & as a par ched heath: you that hath wandred up & down in the long night of darknes & knew no rest, but were as one cast off by all, & all that passed by you laughed at your sorrow: you have been as a hissing and as a proverb to all, and as a mark to shoot at by all: your faces have been as the tents of Kedar parched, and your skin withered for want of refreshment, and as a dead tree that bears no fruit. Oh yee who have come through great tribulation! and have suffered the loss of all; the spoiling of all, even the greatest riches; the chiefest Jewels! who have lost all your knowledge and wisdome and become fools for Christ's sake; and hath parted with all; and hath suffered the indignation of the Lord to pass over all; and hath drunk of the cup of fury at the hand of the Lord: who have suffered hunger famine pestilence and earth-quakes; and the darkning of the Sun, and the Moon lost her light; and the stars have fallen and the pillars of heaven hathbeen shaken: [Page] the Earth hath been removed out of its place as a cottage, and you have cried out in the midst of all this, he hath forgotten to be gracious, & his mercy come to an end. The womb hath been shut up, desolation and sorrow, loss of children, and widowhood in a day came upon you.

Oh ye tossed, afflicted, and not comforted, that have been as Eunuchs, dry and barren as in the drought of summer, that have been as Pelicanes and as Doves, who have sorrowed for the loss of her Mate; and as one in sorrow for the losse of her first-born; who have been in bitterness, and none could comfort you: I am one with you, your state I know, I love you eternally: yea, ye are my brethren and Sisters for ever, sealed in my heart, and engrrveu to be read for ever. I see you, I behold you, I kiss you, and embrace you with an holy kiss of everlasting love, which overcomes death and hell; which love thinks no ill: ye that are made partakers of this love, knows what I say: Ye that have waited for him, and wait and suffer the spoyling of all; I am married unto you, I came forth of the same womb, which is eternity free for ever: free-born, not in bondage, because the Prince of this world is judged and cast out, and the glory of the Lord revealed.

Come forth ye sons and daughters of Jerusalem which is free from above: utter forth your voice, sing aloud, the Bridegroom is come and is coming, and ye that have suffered the spoyling of all, rejoice for evermore: lift up your Voices as Trumpets. He is come, he is covered with righteousness as with a robe; his countenance is as the morning, his eyes is brighter then the sun, his voice is life eternal, salvation is round about him, he dwells in eternal life, life is in his right hand, and joy is in his presence, and peace for evermore: he is a tryed stone, he is a rock which the righteous flies to, he hides his under his wings, & covers them wth his feathers. Beauty beauty, glory glory, eternity eternity [Page] ness Almightiness, power, riches, honor, dignity and dominion, strength, wisdom and goodness, fulness, satisfaction, eternal treasure, durable riches, infiniteness is his Name for ever: unexpressible I am filled with his love and power: he opens the windows of heaven, he rains his showres as silver drops, and as fine Myrrhe, as sweet odours; he nourishes the yong, he carries the Lambs in his arms of love: he drives gently them that are with young; he is true and faithful for ever; he keeps covenant; he is long-suffering and kinde, who can declare his power? I am lost in the incomprehensible being of eternal love.

Oh my dear ones, come up hither, fellow-Citizens of Jerusalem which is from above, who is our Mother, which few know, but you who are written in the Lambs book of life: sound forth his praise, trumpet forth his power, declare his Name among the people, that it may sound into the ears of Generations to come this is he we have waited for; this is he who hath begotten us to himself to reign with him the Lamb upon Mount Sion; as Kings, and Priests, and Judges of the Prince of darkness, death and hell for ever; salvation, honor and glory be to him for ever, eternall infinite Praises; Praises to him for ever, who was dead and is alive, and lives for evermore; King of kings for ever; majesty glory and power and eternal renown is in his right hand for ever: his redeemed ones lives for ever; dwells follows lives in him for ever: no beast can touch the mountain where he dwells but he dies for ever.

Come away my beloved ones, drink abundantly and be refreshed, and praise his names for ever; eternally I am shed and spilt among you; never so as now never to be separated out of the eternal oneness: sound forth his praise; declare his word; let it go forth as thunder; let the Heathen bow, let the Princes of this world fall, and the kings worship [Page] at his feet for ever; let the disputers tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth for ever; let all flesh keep silence for ever. Babylon is fallen, and become the habitation of Devils for ever; the judge of all the world hath confounded and cursed her language for ever: God is risen and sits upon his Throne, eternal wisdome is come, and the Ancient of dayes, all carnall shall be confounded: stop all mouths in the dust for ever. Eternity shall speak and judge for ever: whom he binds is bound for ever, whom he looseth he looseth for ever: whom he remits are remitted, the Devil is chained, the grave gives up her dead, and the sea and hell, all is judged by him that lives for ever.

O beloved ones, who are the children of my eternall father, who have eaten at his Table, and drunken of the new wine in the Kingdome of God, who are nourished & dandled upon [...]he lap of everlasting love, who suck at the breasts of everlasting consolation: your beauty is comely I am ravished I am filled, Iam filled with love to you all, I am sick of love: your beauty hath ravished my heart: come sit down my dear Lambs together in the fold where no wolf can come, and let us rejoyce together, and sound forth his praise who hath washed us and cleansed us and covered us, and made us worthy to enter into the fold the Bride-chamber, to eat with him of the bread of life for ever, at the eternal Table of life; the Bridegroom is come friends, of him I know you rejoyce greatly because of his voice. And now my deer beloved ones, follow him for evermore in the eternal light and life where we were bred, brought forth and nourished, and are unknown to all the world; but me you know, and I know you in one who is the condemnation of the world, and in him I meet you and leave you in his arms I lie down with you in the bosome of eternal love, life, peace, joy and rest for ever, where none can make us afraid

Bandon in Ireland, the 7th month, 1655.

My name ye know, my voice ye know, this is to all my beloved [brethren, who are redeemed from ye earth.

Francis Howgill.

[Page]

Information about this book

Title statement

To the camp of the Lord in England

Howgill, Francis, 1618-1669.

Edition statement

1655

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A44809

ID [STC]

Wing H3184

ID [STC]

ESTC R28699

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

10741435

ID [OCLC]

ocm 10741435

ID [VID]

45608

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This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A44809)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 45608)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1405:3)

Source

— To the camp of the Lord in England, Howgill, Francis, 1618-1669..

Extent

24 p.

s.n.,. [London? :: 1655?]. (Caption title.) (Signed at end and dated: Francis Howgill ; Bandon in Ireland the 7 month, 1655.) (Imprint suggested by British Library Catalogue.) (Reproduction of original in the Cambridge University Library.)

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