To the Flock of God every where ga­thered out of the Worlds Wayes, Worships, and false Separations, into the Way of Truth, Worship of the Spirit, and its pure guidance, where true Satisfaction and Peace is witnessed, that you all may keep there; for there is your Rest for ever, and your Safety in time of your trouble; that none may gad or go astray out of the Way of Truth for the love of any thing: for such shall meet with Tribulation, Anguish and Wrath from the Lord God Almighty.

DEar Friends, Who are gathered into the Life of GOD and Seed Immortal, which was before the seed of the Adulterer and power of Darkness and Death was, and are planted a Noble Vine, an holy and right Seed, in that grow, spread forth your Roots and flourish, that you may be fruitful to God; and stand out of the seed of the Adulterer, and keep over the Serpent's windings, and turnings, and subtilty; and that Serpent, and them in it, that would draw you forth into the World, its Inventions, Customs and Traditions, or to an Oneness with them; for you cannot please nor serve two Masters, you must hate the one and love the other, and cleave to the one and despise the other: Therefore, Dear Friends all, keep in the right Seed, Nature and Ground, and grow in that over the World and perishing things, and you will all be pleasant Plants, and the Issues of Life and fresh showers of the Love of God you will plentifully feel, and [Page 2]dwel in the invisible Power of God, out of all visible things, out of the will of the flesh, or the will of man in the pride of life; for by that, Death comes over, and Darkness co­vers, and gets head and mastery, and so comes to rule and bear sway. O let not your minds go after the World, its flesh-pots, or any thing you have forsaken, and left behind you for Truths sake, never let that come into your remem­brance again so as to lust after it, but press forwards in fol­lowing the Lord. O look not back on the fading glory of any visible or mutable thing, but minde the Lord that brought you out of the house of bondage, and Aegypts darkness, and hath safely led you on all along, and com­fortably watched over you, as a Shepherd over his flock; Dear Friends, walk on in the sence of the Lord's Power and precious Presence with you in all your undertakings, that in the living Faith you all may stand fast; and quit your selves from every thing that would entangle you, or draw you aside again into the Corruptibles, that so in the Faith all may be given up, and you made truly willing to suffer the loss of all: Let nothing be kept back or thought too dear or near to be parted with, that's visible and perish­ing, what-ever it be, Husband, Wife, Children, Gold, Sil­ver, Lands, or full Trading and Imployments, value them not, nor love them more than the Truth; for if any so do, they will not be found worthy of the Truth, but the Truth shall be given to them that are more worthy of it, and whose delight is to serve it and honour it: So what-ever stands in your way, or at any time would hinder you from running the Race that is set before you; or, what-ever be­sets any of you, or burthens the Just in you, cast it from you, and lay it aside, and freely part with it; for they are worthy of the Truth, and knows most how to prize it, that [Page 3]have laid down all for it; such come to the Everlasting-Inheritance which fades not away; and by the laying down of their own Life, thereby come to save it. But many come to lose the Life, because they were never truly willing to lay down, deny, and forsake that, which in the evil nature and ground they have a life in, and yeeld unto that which is evil, and work offence against God, shunning the Crosse of Christ, wherein the Power of God is manifested unto all that obey him; for the crucifying and slaying of that which is contrary to God, which the Prince of Darkness works, and would keep all people in, to their loss and ruine. But, Dear Friends, be willing to lay down all, and part with that life which any have in any thing that will perish and come to an end, wherein it works against the Truth, and hinders its growth and prosperity, or the preservation and perseve­rance in it. O lay all down at the feet of the Lamb, who prevails and shall have the Victory, and stand with the pure Lamb against, and keep over all Deceit and Hypocrisie in them that would pervert the way of Truth, and draw you aside from your first Love, and stedfastness to God and his People, into bitterness and unstability of mind and spirit, and would swell you up in vain conceits, prejudice and evil surmising, and that would labour to beget any of you into an amity with the Professions of the World, who are out of the Seed and Life of God, wherein the true Church-Unity stood, and ever stands over them all who are of the false Church and Mother of Harlots, and over all their feigned shews and hypocritical pretences of Love and Amity; that will speak fair, and make a fair shew, but within full of rot­tenness, death, darkness, evil thoughts and Murders, which proceed out of their evil hearts, and they cannot cease from sin, but make a mock at it, and plead for it, that they might [Page 4]have it for term of life, and cannot be free till they come at the Grave, as though the Grave would recover them, and free them from their sins; which is altogether incredible, and but a formed imagined thing: therefore Friends, keep out of the Worlds spirit, principles, and dark groundless perswasions; keep clear out of them, and tamper not with their dead principles, perswasions, vain traditions, carnal or­dinances, forms which they have invented; nor their Wor­ships which profit not, nor make the comers thereunto per­fect; but keep clear out of them all, in That wherein you have acceptance with God, and his pure Presence apparant­ly hath been manifested in, for the quickning, comforting, and refreshing of you in all your tryals and sufferings, which you have passed through, and been acquainted with, for the tryal of your Faith in this day of Jacobs troubles, wherein the Lord hath been sifting the house of Israel, and is pur­ging away the filth of the daughter of Sion, and arraying her with the Beautiful Garments and comly Ornaments, where­in she shines forth in the excellent Glory and Comliness which the Lord hath put upon her: And this is she that sometimes sate as forsaken, and few minded to seek after her, but now is become a City sought up, and not forsaken, and is become the Delight and Ransomed of the Lord, that is re­turned out of Babylon and Egypt with Songs of Deliverance. And undoubtedly the Lord will wound and cut off the stout-hearted for your sakes, and all they that are incensed against you shall be ashamed, and they that strive with you shall perish; and the Lord will be with you, and go before you that remain stedfast and constant in the love of his Truth and People, if you travel on, not turning to the right-hand or to the left, nor gad abroad to change your way: for if any forsake the Lord, who is the Way, or his Work and [Page 5]Testimony, in meeting together with the Saints & Servants of God, that feel his presence with them; how should they expect but the Lord should leave them, and slight them that slight his Work and Testimony, which so signally he hath owned and led us on in? wherein also we have wit­nessed an overcoming of Sin and the Devils works, as the Children of the Lord did in the Generations past; I say, how should such but grow cold, dry and barren, and lose their savour, and so be good for nothing but to be trodden under foot of men, who stumble at, and slight, and cause others to stumble at and slight the manifest Requirings of God, to meet together to speak of the things of his King­dom, to wait upon and worship him, as our former manner was? So, dear Friends, abide in the Seed which keeps true, single, constant and unmovable, alwayes abounding in the unfeigned Love of God, that his Work may prosper in you, and you be kept upright to the Lord, rejecting e­very evil way and spirit which gathers not into that which is wholsom and sound, which you have heard from the be­ginning, and been assured of by manifold Testimonies from Heaven, which God's Witness in you hath answered to, that have believed and obeyed from your hearts what was delivered unto you, and are preserved in the same Love, Life and heavenly Unity of the One Spirit, by which all the Plants of God were quickened, and kept fresh and green through sundry storms and tempests which they have past through and been exercised in, both inwardly and outward­ly. O dear Friends, shut out the Wicked-One, and lend not an ear to his Allurements, nor open an eye to look out at the Glory of this World, which in the Invisible you may see passing away very swiftly: and the Glory of all flesh God is staining, and through all his Judgments revealed, [Page 6]manifesting the emptiness and uncertainty of all things un­der the Sun. So, dear Friends, feel dominion over all that which is uncertain and fading away, and stand in the Dread of God over all Changeables, and them that are subject to change their way, and that run out in high-mindedness, self-seeking, feigned-flatteries with the tongue, when their hearts are not with you; And be all in Reality what you profess in words, and let Truth guide you in all things; and beware of strengthning the Bad in one another: when you at any time see one another, let your words be few and savoury, seasoned with Salt, that they may administer Grace to the hearers; and covet the wholsomest words and the best gifts, and follow the things that make for Peace, as much as in you lieth; and provoke one another to Love and to good works: And if any be a Talker, or a Busie-body, or a false Accuser, or a Backbiter, or a Slanderer, going about pra­ting of things they ought not, warn such unruly spirits, and withdraw from them, that they may be ashamed, that they may be reproved sharply, and exhorted to mind their own business, still desiring that they might come to the acknow­ledgment of their Sins, and to Repentance for them, and forsake them.

So, dear Friends, the God of all Grace establish you, and keep you in that which works for God, and which is able to present you all spotless and unblamable in Holiness; for truly God (through his abundant mercy and kindness) hath extended Life to us that were dead, and by his Power hath raised the Dead, and opened the Graves, and you that are now come forth of the graves of sin and iniquity, that sometime dwelt in the dust, can now sing, being awakened out of the sleep of Death, wherein the World and all the salse gatherings lie, so rejoyce and triumph over Death, [Page 7]and that which would draw into Death & Darkness again; and prize the Truth, in which Life and Salvation is found and witnessed; O turn not from it, for if any one turn from it, condemnation and misery shall come upon them, which they shall not be able to escape whithersoever they run, to hide themselves, or to save their lives, they shall lose them, the Lord will find them out, and will bring torment and distress upon them, morning by morning they shall have no rest nor peace, all joy shall be taken from them, when the Faithful come to rejoyce and clap their hands for joy; after the days of their Mourning be over, then shall sorrow and sadness, mourning and bitter lamentations come upon all that are not faithful to the Lord in their day. There­fore, dear Friends, you that know the Truth, prize it more and more, be faithful to its requirings, and value it more than all visible things; prize nor esteem any thing, though never so delightful or profitable, as the Truth, and the Truth will free you from all that which would hurt, and keep you over all to the Glory of God; keep it, and it will be your life, it will preserve you and be a Sanctuary of safety for you when the scourge of the Almighty passeth through the Land with greater severity to destroy and cut off its Inha­bitants than yet hath been known in our generation. Oh! Blessed are you that have a habitation & dwel in the Truth, the infallible way to God, you need not look for another; for there is no other unto God but Christ, whom we have belie­ved in, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, in whom I re­main, your Brother and Companion in Sufferings, Exercises and Tribulations for the Gospels sake, which is the Power of God.

JAMES PARK.

Let this be read amongst Friends when you meet toge­ther in the Spirit of Love; and of a Sound Mind, as it is written.

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this EEBO-TCP Phase II text, in whole or in part.