THou Seed of Jacob, that hast been scattered a­mongst the Nations, who hast indeed been small, and lain amongst the Pots, thy Glo­ry hath been covered, thou hast been as trodden down amongst all Nations, desolate, and forsaken as a Widdow, thy Habitation hath been in the Wilderness, the great red Dragon hath sought to devour thee, the Beast that rose out of the Sea, and the Beast that rose out of the Earth, and Mystery Babylon the great have all sought the Vailing of thy Glory, and the Destruction of thy Life: thou hast been as a speckled Bird, and being desolate hast mourned, and cried through many Ages and Generati­ons; thou hast been as in a strange Land, how hath the Egyptian and Assyrian oppressed thee! how have the Task-masters oppressed thee! Oh, thy Burdens, thy Op­pressions, [Page 4]thy Wounds, thy Cries and Tears, thy Lamentations, thy Groanings under all thy Oppressions, and Oppressors! thy Burden is felt, and thy deplorable Estate amongst the Nations (over which Darkness hath spread it self as a Covering) God Almighty hath given a sence of.

Oh thou that art as in the Clifts of the Rocks, and as in the secret Places of the Stairs, my Soul hath been of­ten bowed down in a sence and sight hereof; but (blessed be the Name of my God) the Sorrow hath not been without Hope, having felt the Arm that will deliver thee.

Arise, Arise thou Worm Jacob, the Lord hath heard thy Mournings, and hath taken notice of thy Oppres­sions, and his Bowels earn on thee; yea, he hath seen, he hath seen thy desolate Estate, thy Cries are come before him, and thy Sighings and Mournings; and he hath taken notice of thy Oppressors, and is angry with the Nations because of thee.

And now in the Name of the God of the whole Earth, the Everlasting Creator, [...] prophesie of thy universal Visitation and Deliverance through all Nations, Tongues, and People; now will the Lord plead with all Nations for thy sake, and give Nations for thee, and People for the Ransom of thy Life: Now will be gather thee, thou Seed of Jacob, from the East, and from the West; he will now say to the North give up, and to the South keep not back, and will bring his Sons from far, and his Daughters from the Ends of the Earth; therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the House of Jacob, Ja­cob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his Face now wax pale; but when he seeth his Children, the Work of my Hands in the midst of him, they shall sanctifie my Name, and San­ctifie[Page 5]the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

And now behold, the Name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his Anger, and the Burden there­of will be heavy; his Lips are full of Indignation, and his Tongue is Devouring Fire, and his Breath (as an Over-flowing Stream) shall reach to the midst of the Neck to silt the Nations with the Sive of Vanity; and there shall be a Bridle in the Jaws of the People, causing them to Err: but thou Seed of Jacob shalt have a Song as in the Night, when an holy Solemnity is kept, and Gladness of Heart, as when one goeth with a Pipe to come into the Mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel; and the Lord shall cause his Glorious Voice to be heard, and shall shew the light­ning down of his Arm, and the Indignation of his An­ger, and with the Flame of devouring Fire, with scat­tering Tempests and Hail-Stones.

And therefore Arise, thou Precious Seed, spring at the Salutation of the Prophecy of thy Delive­rance; for thou shalt be made a quiet Habitation, a Tabernacle that shall not be taken down, not one of the Stakes thereof shall ever be moved, neither shall any of thy Cords be broken; thou shalt be as a Royal Diadem in the Hand of thy God, even an Eternal Excellency, the Joy of many Generations, this is thy Portion, and the Lot of thy Inheritance, thou Oppressed Afflicted Seed of Jacob.

And now unto you, the First-Fruits of the Glori­ous Day of Visitation, which hath dawned in this Nor­thern Island of the Gentiles, who have kept your first Love, in and through which the Lord God Everlasting[Page 6]reached unto you, and have kept your Habitations in the Light, unto which you were turned by the Might of the Arm of Jacob's God, and therein have waited, and diligently sought and served the Lord; I say, your Bones are full of Fatness, your Souls are full of Vertue, and Hearts filled with the Love of God, and Minds possessed with the Pure Fear and Aw of God the Al­mighty; your Tents are Goodly, and your Habitati­on is Lovely; you it is I dearly love, honour and esteem; you are the Jewels of the Lord, which he will now make up, and spare. My Soul is refreshed in the very remembrance of you, and my Spirit is comforted in the sight of you in the Invisible Spirit of Holiness, you Belo­ved of the Lord, you Amiable Ones, whose Souls abhor every Graven Image, and Likeness, nothing satisfying your Thirsty, Breathing, Panting Souls, but that River the Streams whereof make glad the City of God.

Unto you this Exhortation springs in my Heart (who am a Fellow-Citizen with you) in the pure Movings and Arisings of the Eternal Power of the Mighty One of Israel, from day to day, from week to week, from moneth to moneth, from year to year, to the very end of our dayes, let us keep our Habitations, and stand upon our Watch-Tower, wherein we hear what the Lord saith, who speaketh Peace to his People, that they turn not again unto Folly; let us keep the Commandments of the Lord, cleaving to him, loving and serving him all our dayes, with all our Hearts, and with all our Souls.

And as here all keep, we shall blossom as a Rose, we shall grow as the Willows by the Water-Courses, we shall mount up as on the Wings of Eagles; we shall run, and not be weary; and go, and not be [Page 7]faint; here every one will daily feel the Arisings of the living eternal Power of the Highest, which first reached to quicken us, which alone can keep alive to the Lord; here Vertue is added unto Vertue, and none are barren or unfruitful, but are as a Watered Garden, being daily watered by our Beloved, who is as a Fountain of Gardens, and Well-springs of Living Waters, who will lead you all, you beautiful Ones, into his Banquetting-House, where his Banner, even Love it self, will be display'd over you; wherein Eat, oh Friends, and drink, oh Friends, at the Table of the Lord, of the Fatness of the House of our God.

And oh you beautiful Flock of the good Shepherd of Israel, who have come up from the Washing, among whom there is none Barren; I am in Love with your Life, and taken with your Beauty, and the Splendour of your Garments, the fine Clean Linnen: You Virgins, your Day of Rejoycing is come, and coming; you are those who stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion, yea, on the Sea of Glass, which is mingled with the Purifying Fire; you have gotten and are getting Victory over the Beast, and Image, and the Number of his Name; Harps are put into your Hands, and the Song of the Redeemed into your Mouthes, which none learn but the Redeem­ed of the Lord, which is the Song of Moses, the Servant of the Lord, and the Song of the Lamb; you have passed through the Ministration of Condemnation, which was Glorious in its Time, and are come to that which exceeds in Glory; you have seen, and shall see the Judgments and Desolation of the great Whore, My­stery Babylon the Great, she is falling, she is falling; Re­joyce over her ye holy Prophets and People of the Lord;[Page 8]an utter End and utter Desolation in the Name of the Eternal God is coming on her, and her Merchants, and all that shall be found Drinking of her Cup of Forni­cation, and over all that have come in, and been intre­duced through the loss of the Ancient, Pure, Holy, E­verlasting Power.

And so dear Friends, Brethren and Sisters (unto whom is the Salutation of my Love in the arising of his Pow­er, that moves me at this time thus to write) let us dwell, and forever abide, and keep, as aforesaid, in the holy Habitation, where our Growth, Sasety and Preser­vation is forever; and the God of all Consolation, Might, Power and Eternal Strength Water, Refresh, and Bless you from this time forth, and forever.

And now unto you who have been visited with the right Arm of God's Deliverance, when you were in Egypt's Land spiritual, and have been by that Arm brought forth, and are now travelling in the Wilder­ness, wherein you meet with many Tryals, and find the Snares and Temptations of the Enemy strong and many, and are ready therewith sometimes to be over­whelmed, and to faint in your Minds; unto you my Heart and Soul yearns, and for you do my Bowels turn; dear Lambs and Babes, hear the Counsel of the Lord unto you in his endless Love, his Care is over you, that are and will be Obedient unto him, He will carry you his Lambs in his Bosom, and gently lead all that are with Young; look not at your own Weakness, not at the Temptations of the Enemy; neither at the Nature yet remaining, which receives the Temptations; but look to the Lord, and believe in his Power, trust in the Sufficiency of his Grace, and let the Waves beat,[Page 9]and the Billows of Temptation go over; stand you still, and ye shall know, that he is God, who changeth not, who in his own time will lift up his Standard against your Enemies; who by the Arm of his own Power can make all your and his Enemies as Ashes under the Soals of your Feet; and here you shall know, that the Ever­lasting God, the Creator of the Ends of the Earth doth not sail, neither is he weary; he gives Power to the Faint, and to them that have no Might he encreaseth Strength: The Youths shall fail, and the Young Men shall utterly faint; but those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their Strength; they shall mount up, as on Eagles wings; they shall run, and not be weary; and go, and not faint: Therefore lift up your Heads all you Breathing, Panting, Thirsty Ones (who cannot live without God's Appearance) in his Power your Enemies to destroy, the Appearance whereof your Soul loaths and abhors, even you that cannot take up a Rest or Delight in any perishing fading thing, but over all Mortality cries for a Saviour and Deliverer; neither can be satisfied with a Name to live, but cries to live to God, whose Souls Pant after the Loving Kindness of the Lord, as the Hart panteth after the Water-Brooks; whose Tongues sometimes even fail for Thirst after the Living Enjoyment of the Living God: You are belo­ved of my Soul; your Travel I know in the Experi­ence thereof; lift up your Heads in the Name of the Mighty God, and be no more bowed down through your long Infirmity, believe in the Anointed of the Lord, on whom your Help is laid; touch but the Hem of his Gar­ment, and Vertue comes forth of him to heal your dis­eased inward Man; and when the Enemy, by all his Power and Strength, would endeavour to destroy your[Page 10]Hope, believe in Hope against Hope, even against the Hope of the Enemy; and look not at all at your own Deadness, nor barren Womb, but believe in the God of Abraham, and the Seed you shall know that shall be Heir, through whom to you the Inheritance shall be sure: and never stagger at the Promise, because it is not presently fulfilled; but believe (which is the Work of God) and it shall be imputed to you for Righteous­ness; and in due time the Barren bears, and neither E­leazer, nor the Son of the Bond-Woman shall inherit, for that the Promises are Yea and Amen to the Seed, and to all who are in the Seed.

Learn the Mystery of Faith, which is held in a pure Conscience, which is the Substance of things not seen, and the very Evidence of things hoped for; and here your Strength will be renewed: Cast not away your Confidence; for that hath a Reward; nor let go your Hope, which is as an Anchor, both sure and sted­fast; but as I said before, Believe in the Lord, and di­ligently wait upon him: never go to Battel against the Lord's and your Souls Enemies in your own Strength, nor Reason with the Enemies Appearances and Tempta­tions in your own Reason, nor consult concerning his Appearance in your own Thoughts and Cogitations: Beware, I warn you in the Name and Love of God, of kindling Sparks of your own, which is very incident to all thus exercised; for the Product and Effect is to [...]ie down in Sorrow thereof: but sink ye down into the Death of your own Thoughts, Reasonings and Imaginations, Con­ceivings, Gatherings and Fetchings in; neither ascend, nor descend, nor fly beyond the Sea; but sink down in­to the Word of Life in the Heart, and there in pure Stil­ness[Page 11]wait patiently upon God, until he arise your Ene­mies to scatter and destroy, and your Souls to deliver; and believe in the Word, the Light, the Gift, the Suf­ficient Grace, and cast all your Care upon the Lord, who careth for you: do you nothing but submit to the Sa­ving Grace of God; and here you will see and have an Understanding how you have in your own Strength and Wills toiled all Night, and thereby caught nothing, and in the Morning see your Saviour, who will direct you, so that by following his Directions you will see more ef­fected in a Moment of Time, then by your own Willing, Running and Toiling all Night; for by his own Strength shall no Man prevail, its God that worketh both the Will and the Deed; hear this, give ear, and be instructed, you affli­cted and tossed with Tempest, and not comforted; let the Scales fall off from your Eyes, then will you see all things possible, and your Faith will increase that removes Mountains. Arise you Afflicted Ones, who sit as in the Dust of the Earth; Arise, arise in the Might of the Power of the Eternal Strength of Israel; shake your selves from the Dust of your own Thoughts, Conceivings, Contrivings and Imaginations; come into the Innocent Way, where the Wayfaring Man, although a Fool, shall not err: And be no more discouraged you bowed down in Soul and Spirit; li [...]t up your Heads in the Light of Righteousness, and you shall see your Redeemer draw nigh, yea, very nigh.

And so, dear Mourners in Zion, who mourn as a Dove without a Mate, be ye Comforted, be ye Com­forted; behold I declare unto you in the Word of the Lord, That if you look up unto him, and believe in his Name, and obey the Requirings of his Power, your[Page 12]Warfare will be accomplished, your Hearts and desolate Souls will be inhabited with Life & Love, and the Anci­ent Pathes will the Lord restore to you; for now the Fruit­ful Field shall become like a Wilderness; and you who have seen your selves like a Wilderness, shall blossom as a Rose; and you who have seen your selves as a stand­ing Pool, shall now become as Springs of Water; Night shall pass over with you, and the Day shall dawn; Win­ter shall passover, and Summer draw nigh; and the Day hasteneth, you Mourners in Zion, after the Enjoyment of your God, wherein the Voice of the Turtle shall be heard (the Voice of the Innocent One) and the Sing­ing of Birds in your Land; therefore be you comforted, ye solitary Ones, the Arm of the Lord is awakened for your Deliverance; break forth thou Barren that didst not bear, for more (in the Name of Israel's God) shall be the Children of the Barren and of the Desolate, then of the merried Wife. And so dear Exercised Ones, sink down in the Stayedness and pure Content in the Light; and I charge you, strive not to stir up, nor awake your Beloved until he please, so will the Work prosper in his Hands, and you shall the Spoil divide, that tarry at home in your Habitation; and then you will see your Beloved come leaping over the Mountains, and skipping over the Hills, ye will see him as the Apple-Tree among the Trees of the Wood, and sit down under his Shaddow, and find his Fruit brought forth (by his Working, and your Passiveness) pleasant to the Taste: so neither will, nor run; for the Battel is not to the Strong, nor the Race to the Swift; and here you will learn the Mystery of your Resting from all your Labours, that he may work, and you not let; and as you are brought to be truly passive, as the Clay in the [Page 13]Hand of the Potter; let but him (even the Lord Strong and Mighty) arise, and in his Arisings your Enemies will be scattered.

So the Lord God Almighty open your Understandings clearly in these things (which are indeed of Eternal Con­cernment) and lead you and guide you to the Fountain of Living Waters, where you may be abundantly refresh­ed, consolated and strengthned to grow strong in the Lord, and in the Power of his Might.

And unto you whom the Love of God hath reached, in making manifest the Way of Truth, in which you should walk, and who have received the Truth, and made Profession and Confession thereof, but have not, nor do not obey from the Heart; and all you who have tasted of the good Word of God, and of the Power of the World to come, and have and do turn aside, and back­slide from the Way of the Lord, following the Lusts of your own Hearts, and Desires of your own Eyes, profes­sing the Truth, and in some Measure are in Outward Conformity unto it, who profess to love God, but love the World, and the things thereof, who are Double­minded and Unstable in your Wayes, who would serve two Masters, and be Heirs of two Kingdoms, who from day to day come amongst the People of the Lord (who are Children of the Light and of the Day) but still stand in that Nature that is Corrupt; and although in the Assemblies of the Lord's People such may be often smitten, and the Way in which they should walk is ma­nifest, and their By-Ways and Crooked Ways discove­red, yet notwithstanding the many Reproofs of Instru­ction continue in the same Nature and Spirit: and all Foolish Virgins, who have a Lamp, but have no Oyl,[Page 14]& all who have only receiv'd the Seed in the High-Way, Stony and Thorny Grounds, who therein brings forth no Fruit to Perfection, but Dishonour the Name of him who hath sowed the good Seed, being one thing in Name, and another in Nature; and all you who have lost your First Love, and all you who have a Name to live, but are dead, and all you who are Luke-warm Ones, neither Hot nor Cold, who account your selves Rich, and in­creased in Goods, but are indeed inwardly Wretched, Miserable, Poor, Blind and Naked, hear the Counsel of the Mighty God concerning you, Ye are the People with whom the Spirit of the Lord will not alwayes strive; ye are the People who are the Sloathful Servants, not improving the Talent given and communicated unto you▪ ye are the People that turn from the Grace of God into Wantonness; ye are the Backsliding Generation; ye are those who make an Image and a Likeness, and are content therewith without S [...]bstance it self; ye are the People who profefs God, his Light, Life, Grace and Holy Way of Truth in Words, but deny him in Works, and are not Possessors of him; ye are those who disho­nour the Worthy Name of the Lord amongst the Heathen, laying Stumbling-blocks in the Way of those who might come into the Way of Truth; ye are Lovers of the Unrighteous Mammon, and your Minds, Hearts, Un­derstandings and Capacities are therefore set on work to compass it; ye are in Esau's Nature, selling the Birth­right for a Mess of Pottage; ye will run the hazard of opening the Mouthes of the Heathen to Blaspheme the Name of the Lord for little Gain; ye are they who have seen a Goodliness in a Babylonish Garment, and in a Wedg of Gold and Silver; ye are of them who trample[Page 15]under Foot the Blood of the Covenant, and do Despite unto the Spirit of Grace.

Give eare, and hearken therefore; draw nigh to God, that he may draw nigh unto you; cleanse your hands ye Sinners, purifie your hearts ye Double-minded Ones, lest his Fury break forth like Fire, and there be no Remedy; bow down, and kiss the Son, lest his An­ger be kindled against you, and ye Perish out of the Way.

I am constrained to sound the Controversie of the Migh­ty God in his dreadful Name, Power and Authority with all the Unfaithful afore mentioned; and if all con­cerned herein do not speedily repent, and turn to the Lord, then shall your plagues be wonderful, and the Lord God will appear in the Fire of his Jealousie to con­sume you; and as you have, and do through disobedi­ence dishonour the Pure Name of the Lord, so will the Lord God dishonour you, and your Names shall rot, and be as the Dung on the Face of the Earch: God's Fury, Fire, and Plagues will destroy you, and ye shall be ga­thered into the sides of the Pit to be punished with ever­lasting Destruction from the Presence of the Lord, and from the Glory of his Power.

My Heart is filled with the Indignation of the God of Heaven, and my Quiver with the Arrows of the Almigh­ty against the Rebellious, and Uncircumcised: Tremble, Tremble, Tremble before the Lord, and before the Glori­ous Arisings of his Power: Wo, wo, wo to the False-hear­ted, and the Deceitful, who are as broken Bowes: unto all who are covered with a Profession (which is not the Covering of the Spirit of the Lord) I testifie God's Dreadful Vengeance, and Vialls of Wrath are near to be poured forth upon you, ye shall drink of the Cup of[Page 16]his Fury, even the Dregs thereof with the Heathen; be ye bowed down, and dreadfully smitten at this Rebuk of the Lord all ye Unfaithful Ones, the Lord is offended with you, and in the Day of Trial ye shall be consumed ye Reprobate Silver, ye Uncircumcised in Heart, and Eares; you Prophane Esaus, who sell your Birthright for a Mess of Pottage; tremble ye Sinners in Zion, let fear­fulness surprize all Hypocrites; God Eternal is arisen, whose Spirit is upon me, and Power fills my Heart at this time, moving thereby to prophesie against you, and to proclaim his Controversie with your the Day of Fan­ning and Winnowing hasteneth, in which you will be winnowed from the Wheat: the Day of the Lord which burneth as an Oven cometh, and he will sit as a Re­finer's Fire, and Purifier of Silver, in which Day you will be separated from the Gold in the purifying Fire, and thereby be consumed: Vengeance, Vengeance, Plagues, Plagues, Fury, Fury, Calamity, Calamity, Amazement, Amazement, Astonishment, Astonish­ment is coming over you, the full Cup of the Indigna­tion of the Mighty God will be given you: I am filled, I am filled with the Fury of the Lord God of Hosts, and am constrained thus to pour it forth, which, as sure as the Lord Lives that made Heaven and Earth, will be per­formed on you, who shall abide in these states aforementi­oned, and not speedily repent, and bow under the migh­ty Hand of the Lord.

Let this go through the family and through the hearts of all the unfaithful amongst the people of the Lord through the Land, and enter ye (when you hear these Words, and understand the Wrath determined) into the House of Mourning, and Chamber of Lamentation,[Page 17]rend your Hearts, and not your Garments; sit in Dust before the Lord, Repent, Repent, Repent, and as any are thus bowed down, wait that the Testimony of the Lord may arise in that Power which breaketh the hard Hearts in those States and Conditions asorementioned, that all may hear and sear before the dread [...]l God, who will now be reverenced from the rising of the Sun to the setting of the same, and all that do not repent, and bow before the Lord, ye shall be winnowed, and separated from the Assemblies of the Lord's people, and gathered to your place, and there reserved under Chains of Dark­ness unto the Judgment of the great I ay: Oh in the fence of what hasteneth to come on the unsaithful Ones have I often been bowed down, and my Soul hath in remembrance the Wormwood and the Gall in my Tra­vels through this the Land of my Nativity, through which my God commanded me to pass swittly, saying, Run through this Nation, and visit my Breathing, Panting, Bruised Birth, which I begat among my People in the Day of their first Tender Visitation: Proclaim my Acceptable Year, my Day of Perfect Deliverance to my Breathing, Panting, Earning, Tender Birth, and my Day of Vengeance to come upon that which bruiseth it, either amongst my People or in the World: But, Oh! saith my Soul, that now all the unfaithful who have trampled under Foot the Blood of the Covenant, and done Despite unto the Spirit of Grace, and have hitherto neglected the Day of their Visitation; Oh, that before the Eye-lids of the Morning be to them as the Shaddow of Death, they might return to seek the Lord while he is to be found, and to call upon him while he is yet near, before the Everlasting Night comes, in which no man can work.