Not long after the publishing of this paper, to wit, in the month
called May, Edward Burrough, and Samuel Fisher, went from Dover to
Dunkirk, where there was an English garrison. Being come there, it
quickly spread over the town. The governor, Lockhart, now not being
there, his deputy, colonel Alsop, with the council of officers, sent
for them; and they being come, were asked, what their business was
there? To which they gave answer, and the next morning signified in
writing, that their coming was to visit the jesuits, friars, and
priests, and other papists, to show them the errors of their ways, and
the falseness of their worship, &c. they being called to preach the
everlasting gospel to the nations. They were some hours in discourse
with the said deputy, and the officers, and not unkindly treated; but
the deputy however said, that it would be dangerous for them to stay
in the town: and therefore he desired them to depart. To which their
answer was, that if he desired them, they, could not receive any such
desire; and if he commanded them, they could not obey his command in
that case; because they could not depart the town but in the will of
God; according to which will they came thither. After much reasoning
they left them, and the next day went to the Capuchin friars, and had
some discourse with the chiefest of them in their garden, concerning
the light of Christ, that every man is enlightened withal; and told
them, that the mighty day of the Lord was at hand upon them; and that
the Lord was come to search and try them; and that he would hew down
their idolatrous ways, worships and works. The next day Burrough wrote
some queries to the friars and nuns, in and about that town, which were
sent to them in Latin. The introduction was thus:
‘The mighty day of the Lord is come, and coming upon you, and
all the world. Awake, awake, ye that sleep in the earth, for
the dreadful God is arising to plead with you, and to give
unto all the world the cup of his fierce indignation, because
of your idolatries, and hypocrisies, and abominations, which
have corrupted the earth, and are come up before him, and have
provoked him; and the cry of the just, who have been smitten, and
laid slain, is entered into the ears of the Most High, and his
sword, which is the word of his mouth, is awakened to wound and
destroy all his enemies. And the day of your visitation is now
come, wherein the Lord is searching you, and trying you, that he
may recompense you: and this is the word of the Lord to you.
‘Wherefore, I am moved of the Lord to propound some few queries
to you, for the trial of your spirits and ways; to which I demand
your answer, that all things may be brought to light and true
judgment, and that you may be judged justly, and by the spirit of
the Lord cleared or condemned according to your deeds.’
These queries were partly concerning the orders of friars and nuns,
whether any such were in the church in the apostles’ days; and
concerning the popish worship and ceremonies, demanding proof of their
lawfulness from the Holy Scriptures. After the delivering of these
queries to the Capuchins, Burrough and Fisher went also to the friars
of other orders, and entered into discourse with them: but their
plain speeches against the idolatrous rites and ceremonies, found no
entrance. After some stay in the town, they going to the college of
the jesuits, got into discourse with their chief rector; and after a
conference of about three hours, he grew weary, and pretending other
business, would stay no longer with them; and so they parted, asking
him, whether he would admit more discourse at some other time; but he
refused it. Burrough afterwards wrote a letter to him, which began thus:
‘Friend, thy wisdom and thy knowledge is earthly and sensual, and
thereby canst thou not know the things of the kingdom of God:’
and he concluded with this query: ‘What is that whore that hath
sat upon multitudes of people? and what is that golden cup in
her hand? and what are the abominations and fornication of which
her cup is full, which she hath caused the kings and people to
drink,’ &c.
But neither this query nor the others were answered. Burrough and
Fisher did also visit the nuns; and speaking to them through a grate,
they asked if they were of the order of those called Quakers; and soon
perceiving they were such, they said, they might not hear them, and so
presently passed away; whereby Burrough and Fisher were deprived of
any opportunity to speak to them; only they witnessed against them.
E. Burrough wrote also some propositions to the jesuits, priests, and
friars, wherein he particularly represented the tyranny of the church
of Rome in true colours; and these propositions were sent to them in
Latin. They staid yet some days in town, and had divers meetings among
the English soldiers: and Burrough also wrote to them, and bid them
be faithful to the Lord, and not to seek themselves in their service,
but the honour of God: he also showed them what their duty was in
their military station; and, (not to give them too rough a brush, but
to meet them somewhat in their own way; following therein the example
of John the Baptist, when he spoke to the soldiers, Luke iii. 14,)
told them, ‘What do you know but the Lord may have some good work for
you to do, if you be faithful to him?’ and he also signified to them,
that since the Lord one day would avenge the innocent blood shed in
the pope’s dominion, and appear against Babylon and Rome, the seat of
the whore, and the kingdom of antichrist, it seemed not improbable to
him, that the Lord would make way thereto by the English nation. ‘It
is,’ said he, ‘the Lord’s work, I know, to make men truly religious;
but yet he may work by you, to break down the briars and thorns, and
the rocks and hills that have set themselves against the Lord,’ &c. He
also advised them, if ever such a work fell to be their lot, not to
be ambitious, nor vain-glorious, but to make it their work to demand
the disannulling of the popish inquisition and cruel laws. And the
officers he charged, not to be as tyrants and oppressors over the poor
soldiers, but to be loving and meek, and examples of all goodness unto
them; to this he added: ‘and having no sin lying upon your consciences,
then shall ye face your enemies with courage, and not fear death, but
shall be ready to lay down your lives in a good cause.’ But lest any
might think he was for the bearing of arms, and not for harmlessness or
non-resistance, he told them also, that the Lord had a more honourable
work to work after them, viz. to destroy the kingdom of the devil, and
the ground of wars. And that there was a more honourable victory to be
waited for, to wit, the victory over sin, &c.
Burrough and Fisher being once sent for by the governor Lockhart, found
many officers with him; and after some friendly discourse, they advised
them to moderation, and the fear of God, and so parted from them: and
after having performed their service in the town, they returned to
England.
Not long after Burrough gave the aforesaid queries out in print, and
wrote also a paper to the parliament; exhorting those that were members
of that assembly, to fear God, and not to oppress honest people, but to
free them from oppression and tyranny; lest the Lord come suddenly upon
them and break them to pieces.
The power of the protector Richard Cromwell already declining, he was
prevailed upon by the officers of the army to dissolve this parliament,
which began to make inquiry how the subsidies were employed; and by
the direction of some of the chief republicans, the long parliament
was called again. This parliament set up a committee of safety,
for apprehending those that disturbed the peace, and for making an
alteration among the military officers, either by cashiering them, or
otherwise; and, increasing in power, erected also a council of state;
and word was sent to Richard Cromwell, who was now deprived of all
power, to remove from Whitehall, which at length he did, the parliament
allowing him two thousand pounds for the charges of removing, and
promising to pay his debts contracted for the public: and his brother
Henry, who was lord deputy of Ireland, was called back by the
parliament. Thus these two brothers were again reduced to the state of
private men.
E. Burrough now wrote a letter to the parliament, and seriously
exhorted them therein to desist from all persecution for religion,
and to take away that which gave occasion thereunto. About this time
there was an insurrection in Cheshire for king Charles, under sir
George Booth; who, having received a commission from that prince, got
such numbers of followers, that he seized the city of Chester. In the
meanwhile the parliament sent Edmund Ludlow to Ireland, to be commander
in chief of the army there, instead of Henry Cromwell, and general
Lambert was sent with an army against Booth. Now since some rash people
that went under the name of Quakers, were for taking up arms under
Lambert; and that the committee of safety offered great places and
commands to some of that persuasion, thereby to draw them off from
the truth they professed; G. Fox wrote a paper, wherein he showed the
unlawfulness of wars and fightings, representing it as a work not at
all becoming the followers of Christ: and he exhorted his friends not
to join with those that took up arms, but to fight only with spiritual
weapons, which took away the occasion of the carnal. This he also
recommended in his preaching, for an harmless and inoffensive life, was
that which he always asserted and practised.
As for Booth, he was defeated, and endeavouring to make his escape in
women’s clothes, was discovered in an inn, and taken into custody;
and being carried to London, by an order of the parliament, he was
committed to the Tower. The officers of the army, of which George
Fleetwood was now commander in chief, were very busy to get the upper
hand of the parliament; which caused great division and distraction in
the nation; for it was well known that if the supreme power was offered
up to the army, they then could do what they would; and thus the nation
would be governed by the sword. It was also fresh in memory, that
it was the army by which Cromwell had been advanced so as to become
protector, and supreme ruler of the nation: and therefore many opposed
the design on foot.
About this time also the military officers moved the taking off of the
burden of tithes, and to settle another maintenance for the national
preachers. But being unwilling that the parliament should be masters of
the army, they complained of having been deceived by the parliament;
and colonel Desborough said, that they had not performed any part of
the promises they had made to the army; that they had taken no care to
secure a liberty to tender consciences; and that their intention was to
remove the principal officers, and place others in their commands, who
were of different principles.
Now the council of officers was for calling a new parliament; but this
met with no small opposition. In this bustle the council of officers
began to insinuate with the clergy, and they agreed with them, that
their maintenance by tithes should not be taken away till another
revenue as ample and certain should be settled upon them; that some
provision should be made for those who differed in faith and worship
from the established church; but that the Quakers and some others,
whose principles they said tended to the destruction of civil society,
should not be tolerated at all. In this distracted state of affairs,
when some were for, and others against the parliament, so that it
was hardly well known in whom the supreme authority resided, Edward
Burrough wrote and published in print a large speech, which he stiled,
‘A message to the present rulers of England, whether committee of
safety, so called, council of officers, or others whatsoever.’ He
signified by way of introduction, that the contents had been upon him
to deliver by speech and word of mouth, to the men then in power; but
no way being made for him so to do, he had written what was upon him.
And then he begins thus with a majestic strain.
‘_Friends_,
‘My Master, is a high, and mighty, and powerful prince, and
very honourable; and fear, reverence, respect, and subjection
belong to him alone, from you and all mankind. He is wise, and
understanding, and of great strength, and his dominion is from
everlasting to everlasting; and he can do whatsoever he will
in heaven and earth, for he rules with his iron rod over the
world, and whatsoever he saith, it is done; for his word is an
everlasting command. If he saith to a man, live, it is so; if
he saith to a man, die, it cometh to pass; and if he give peace
to a man, or a nation, none can make war; and if he make war
with a person, or in a nation, no man is able to make peace.
For why? He hath all power in his hand, and to him all judgment
and authority is given; he is the Son of the living God, the
everlasting Creator. He was, and is, and is to come; his eye
beholdeth all things, and his arm compasseth heaven and earth;
and what his purpose is, he hath always and will ever bring it
to pass. If he set up rulers, they must rule; and if he pull
them down none can hinder: whom he will, he honoureth; and if
it be his pleasure, he bringeth men to shame. If he break a
nation down, none can build it up; and if he confound powers and
authorities in the kingdoms of men, they all fall as withered
grass before him. Behold, ye men! He is so great and mighty, and
of so great authority, that whatsoever he saith, it is done;
and whatsoever he willeth, it cometh to pass; and none is able
to resist him, and overcome his power, when his pleasure is to
accomplish a work. By him all things are that be, and all things
live that have life, and through him all things move, and of his
fullness, every creature in heaven and earth receive. And this,
my Master, is altogether honourable in birth, and otherwise, and
altogether mighty in all his works; he is just and merciful, full
of goodness, righteousness, and truth; all virtue dwells in him,
and his judgment and mercy, his authority and meekness, and his
wrath and his love, they are companions: and what are ye before
him? Or how shall ye be able to resist him, or to turn backward
what his purpose is, concerning you, and this nation? For ye have
no being nor breath without him. Behold ye men! Ye are verily as
the dust before the wind, so are ye to him, soon blown away, and
your place not found; as the grass before the mower, so are ye
before him, soon cut down, and whithered, and your beauty utterly
extinguished: as a potter’s vessel under an iron rod, even so are
you to him, he can immediately break you, never to be bound up;
as a drop to the fountain, so are you to him, soon dried up and
made nothing. Wherefore, ye men, ye mortal creatures, ye ignorant
persons, sons of a transgressor, ye dust and ashes: for thus you
are in comparison of him, this mighty prince; hearken to his
message, which cometh to you from him; hear and fear, and be not
stout-hearted against the Lord God, that is about to speak unto
you.
‘As for this little island of England, wherein your present place
and being is, it is an island which the Lord hath showed great
favour unto in ages past, and in this present time; and I must
tell you, he hath a purpose of love towards it, and to honour
it in the view of the world, though through great tribulations:
and he hath an intent of great good unto it; for he hath a seed,
a precious seed in it scattered abroad, and he hath a people
that fear his name, and have walked in his ways, and he hath
made them, and elected them, and what they are, it is by him;
that he may dwell among them, and have the whole government
over them all; yea, he hath a speedy purpose verily concerning
this nation, and he will purify it in judgment, and refine its
inhabitants through the fire of tribulations, that it may be
pleasant to him, and fit to do his will: he hath a purpose to
work some great thing in it, I must tell you, as he hath said
unto me so to do; he will have his name exalted and reverenced
in this island, and his terror shall be sent out of it through
the world, and his branch from it shall spread over the earth;
he doth purpose in his season to take it into his own hand,
and to sway the government thereof with his own sceptre, and
to set up righteousness alone, and to overthrow all oppressors
and oppressions; and the kingdoms of this world must become the
kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ.
‘True it is, such hath been the coming to pass of time, and
of things for many ages by-past, that my master hath been, as
it were, banished from the nation, and hath not been suffered
to enjoy his right; but hath been expelled, even, as it were,
by the force of satan and antichrist, who hath long usurped
authority over the inhabitants of this nation; and in my Master’s
absence, lamentable injustice, cruelty, unmercifulness, tyranny,
and oppression have been exercised upon the inhabitants; and
the poor creatures have been held in great slavery by their
rulers, that have ruled by the dragon’s power; and been kept
in great blindness and ignorance, and under great oppression,
both in body and spirit, by antichristian teachers, for this
many years; even while the great King hath been absent, and,
as it were, gone into a far country; even all this time hath
antichrist and the devil ruled and reigned, and have made and
executed oppression, and tyrannical laws and decrees, both in
church and state; and all the nation hath been out of right
order, and laid waste and barren of good fruit, and it hath been
as a wilderness by reason hereof; and men that have ruled for
many years, have not ruled singly by my Master’s authority, but
by another power; though not without the knowledge of my Lord,
neither as though he had not power to have done otherwise; but
for his own pleasure he hath suffered it thus to be, and let men
go on to rule and govern in their own wills, and after their
own lusts; and people have walked wickedly towards him, and
towards one another; and all this he hath suffered; not as if
he gave toleration for it; for his messengers now and then, and
his witness in people’s consciences, have been reproving their
ungodly ways; and he hath often showed his dislike by divers
ways, and tokens, and many judgments, and strange overturning, to
the way and proceedings of both rulers, prophets, and teachers
of this nation; but yet they have gone on against his mind, and
contrary to his will, notwithstanding his reproofs and judgments.
Not that he had not power to have executed his pleasure in wrath
upon them, and to have destroyed them altogether, and have
made the nation a heap, and as nothing long before this day;
for power was in his hand to have done it; but he hath been
long-suffering and of great patience, and borne all things, and
taken the injustice, and cruelty, and wickedness, and idolatry,
and all unrighteousness that hath abounded in the nation upon
himself, and suffered under it, and borne it for its season,
while woful and lamentable oppressions have been practised in
civil state, even hellish laws, and devilish executors of them;
merciless tyrants have borne the sceptre, and reigned for many
years over the inhabitants, and in church and state have been
heinous idolatry and superstitious vanities committed in a high
nature and measure, and even all men, and states of men, and
orders of men of every degree have been abominably corrupted in
the sight of my Lord, even from the prince to the beggar, even
rulers and subjects, teachers and people, judges and prophets.
They have been corrupted both in heart and hand, and they have
dealt falsely and wickedly towards him and towards one another;
even to the great displeasure and vexation of him, and his
blessed spirit, and to the high provocation of him to their
own destruction, if his long-suffering had not prevailed; and
all this while he hath lain as it were asleep, and at rest in
himself; and he hath left men to try them, what they will do, and
he hath given them a day; many kings and rulers, he hath let them
have a little time, to see how they would use it, but they have
abused it and not ruled for him, nor accomplished his work nor
fulfilled his will, but acted even in defiance of him and of his
power, and to his great dishonour.
‘Alack! I must be plain with you: my Lord hath been utterly
exiled, and greatly dishonoured, and highly provoked and vexed by
reason of such proceedings, as have been in this nation for this
many years, through the corruption of all sorts of men in place
and power, who have not ruled for him, but for the devil to their
own corrupted ends: only he hath suffered men to go on in their
course for a season; some as it were appearing on the stage for a
time, and suddenly cast down again for their iniquities sake; and
his hand hath been in all these things, though very privately and
secretly, not known and discerned by the sons of men, yet hath
he ruled over the kingdoms of men, and pulled down one, and set
up another. And to forbear the several actings and proceedings
of many by-passed ages, and to come to this generation, and to
speak of things that have happened within these few years, and of
the changing and overturning that hath happened in this nation;
such was the cruelty, tyranny, oppression and idolatry both in
church and civil state, that the people of this nation were held
under, in the days of papal power; such, I say, was the exceeding
height of the cruelty and tyranny of that time, that not any that
feared or reverenced my Lord, in any measure, could scarce live,
or have a being in the nation. Even against every man that did
but incline towards him, and desire the knowledge of his ways,
hell’s mouth was opened against them, and they were swallowed,
and many of their lives taken from the earth, by the hellish
power that had in that day usurped authority in this island; and
when thus it was, then he looked down from heaven, and his bowels
of compassion were opened, for the sake of the oppressed people
that desired after him, in so much that he broke and threw down
the power of their oppressors in some measure, as it stood in
papal authority, and when the iniquity of that power was filled
up, he took vengeance upon it; and I must tell you, it was he
that brought it about, even the destroying of that power in this
nation, and freeing the nation from it, though the men that were
instruments in the cause were not his servants, otherwise than
as Nebuchadnezzar served him; for he hath a secret way to have a
service from the wicked, and such is his power, that he can turn
the wickedness of the wicked to his glory, and he can make a rod
to whip his adversaries, and burn it when he hath done, and he
hath often destroyed one wickedness by another.
‘Well, but to leave that, though he did in some measure, free the
nation from much tyranny and cruelty, in the casting out popish
authority, yet alack! the nation in a few years was near as much
violated by injustice and cruelty, under the succeeding power,
as ever it was once under the papal power; though before, there
had been some small reformation and change in outward appearance,
though little in ground and nature; yet oppression, and idolatry,
and superstition, in church and state, and all profaneness and
wickedness among people were grown so high, like as it had
been under the papal power before; and all that desired after
the Lord, and were weary of iniquity, and of the then present
oppressions and idolatries, were persecuted, and slain, and
destroyed; and injustice and cruelty exercised upon them, even
almost to the rooting out of righteousness, and to the grieving
of the Lord’s spirit. Well then, because of the cry of the
people, and the oppression of the nation under that authority,
my Lord looked down again; and even for his name’s sake, and for
his seed’s sake, he had compassion on this nation, to set it
free, and to break off its oppressions; and in a great measure
he did deliver the people of this nation in many things, and
there was a part of reformation wrought, and much pretended and
looked for; and all this came to pass through him, and my Lord
did accomplish it, however the instruments by which he wrought
proved deceitful, and became oppressors, as others before them;
and though there was in this nation a day of great troubles, and
wars, and contention, and great strife, and the wasting of much
blood, and earthly treasure, and none of these things, I must
tell you, fell without the ordering of my Master’s hand; yet so
it was, and came to pass, that after this nation was restored to
peace, though much unrighteousness and injustice was removed,
yet there was much also left behind; and men that he had used as
instruments in his hand, in a good work, and to whom he had given
wisdom and understanding, and appeared in much mercy and in great
deliverance, yet they even turned to seek themselves, and became
corrupted in the spoils of their enemies. And when peace and
plenty abounded, the Lord was forgotten again; and then the land
fell under oppressors, and began again to cry out for freedom,
even when other horns of the first beast sprang up, and went on
each of them after his fellow. And though one horn hath striven
to break another, yet after one hath been cast down, another hath
risen, and made an image to the first; and ruled and reigned by
the same spirit, and authority, derived from the dragon’s power
in cruelty and oppression; and made laws and executed them to
the dishonour of the Lord, and to the great oppression of his
people, and to the filling of this island with injustice and
cruelty, even from one generation to another, until this day: and
thus up and down have times and seasons been altered, powers and
authorities changed and altered, statutes, laws, and decrees,
changeable and alterable; for as the iniquity of one power was
filled up, that was cast down, and another had its day, till the
measure thereof was also filled up, that it might partake of the
same judgments. And in all these overturnings, breakings-down,
and overthrowings, the very hand of my Lord hath been, though
secretly, and not discerned; yet his power hath brought about,
and suffered all these things to come to pass: and who shall
charge him with injustice? Or, who shall say, ‘What hast thou
done?’ Or, ‘Why hast thou done it?’ For, as I have said, he is
a high and mighty prince, and can do whatsoever he will; and he
is the supreme power and authority, which rules and reigns in
and over all the kingdoms of men. And what though he hath used
wicked men as an instrument to accomplish his work, and made the
wicked his rod; and even brought it to pass, that one wickedness
should destroy another, and one oppressor break down another, and
the kingdom of antichrist confound itself; yet what of all these
things? All flesh must be silent before him, and all people, and
the whole earth must be subject unto him; for the government
and dominion over heaven and earth is his, and all power and
dominion belongeth to him alone, and all judgment is in his hand,
to bring to pass whatsoever he will, and by whomsoever, as he
pleaseth.
‘But now, my friends, though I would not be tedious to you, yet
must I tell you the truth, and faithfully deliver the Lord’s
message unto you; and as concerning this last overturning, there
was something of the hand of my Lord in it; and he can, and will
bring forth his own work and praise by it, and it shall be for
the good of all his people, that wait upon him, though there was
much ambition and corrupted ends in the instruments, and neither
part were perfectly single to the Lord in their proceedings,
but their work was tainted with the false idolatrous spirit of
self-seeking; yet notwithstanding, the Lord may bring forth his
government, and his pleasant plant, through and beyond all this,
even out of another root, which yet appears not among either of
them; and righteousness may arise in the nation, contrary to both
of them, out of another stem, and he will set up his kingdom, and
in the meantime, leave one potsherd of the earth to break another.
‘And as for you, that now sit on the throne and bear rule,
whether committee of safety, so called, chiefly, though it is
not without my Master, for he hath the knowledge of it at least,
yet you are not the only men of his choice, truly called of
him to the place of government, neither is your government the
government of the Lamb, neither must it be forever established
by him; its foundation is not blessed, nor can its building be
prosperous. For why? Alas, it is but another horn of that fourth
beast, that hath been made to rule over the world, and upon the
earth for many generations, and it is but hitherto a very little
refined from the last, and is of the last, even as the eighth
was of the seventh, spoken of by that servant, Rev. xvii. 11,
and it may also make war with the Lamb and his followers for
a little season, and it may have a small measure of injustice
and persecution to bring forth in the land, even till the words
of God be fulfilled, and his kingdom be fully come, the way of
which is but yet preparing by all these overturnings. And this
your present government originally is leavened with the spirit
of the old dragon, that hath killed the saints, and drunk their
blood, and how should the Lord establish it? Nay, your kingdom
may prove but small and little, and full of uproars and troubles,
and little peace, and satisfaction and establishment in it to
yourselves, or the people under you; but confusion will attend
it, and fears will compass it about: though this I must tell
you, as you are men, you have your day of trial what you will
do, as many others have had before you; and something you may
and ought to do, if but to make the whore, (the false church,)
more naked, and to scourge her, more than some others have done;
and indeed my Lord requires something more of you, (as such,) to
do, than others before you could do; and you have a price put
into your hands, which you may improve to the Lord’s honour,
and to the nation’s good, and to your own happiness; which, if
you will be faithful to the Lord, to do what he requires of
you, and if you become meek and humble men, and fear his name,
and deny yourselves, and not seek your own honours, nor any
earthly advantage to yourselves; if you do thus, then my Lord
will show mercy to you, and you shall not suddenly fall before
your enemies, though many may rise up against you; but your days
shall be lengthened, and the purpose of the Lord may be turned
to your longer continuance, and not to your sudden destruction;
and if you walk in this way, and rule only for the Lord, then
shall you be honoured as men if not as an authority, and you
and the nation preserved in peace, and the force of the wicked
shall be turned backward, and you shall not suddenly fall. And
the late sundry overturnings in this nation may be examples to
you, that you follow not the steps of those that God hath cast
out, lest you come to the same end of confusion and misery:
for, as concerning that assembly of men, that last sat on the
throne, something was done by them in their day and time, and in
both their assemblings, in some things they served my Lord, and
they were a rod in his hand to smite his enemies; yet they were
not faithful to the end, till all his enemies were destroyed,
but rather joined themselves to fight against the Lord and his
people, and were hastening on towards the way of oppression and
persecution; and it was time for the Lord to remove them, and
to lay them aside as an empty vessel, sometime useful; and to
break them as a rod, sometime of service to be a scourge upon his
enemies. And when the day of their trial was over, which God gave
unto them, being any longer, (at present,) unfit instruments for
his hand, then he cast them into the fire; and this his purpose
came to pass upon them; so that they and the whole nation may
be contented, and yield themselves subject to what he hath done
concerning them; for they being entering into the very same
spirit of wickedness, of oppression and persecution, which the
Lord had once reproved through them, and cast out by them; then
was a rod raised up against them, even as they had been against
others, and they were dealt withal as they had done to others;
and this was in the justice of my Lord’s hand; and what hath
mortal man to question his proceedings? And though some of you,
(present rulers,) be looked upon as great traitors and tyrants in
your dealings towards them; and doubtless the men of that part
will seek vengeance against you, even by preaching and praying;
and they will curse you in the name of their God, and seek
continually your destruction, as such as have taken away part of
their strength, and cast down their idol; but alas! All this is
nothing; for the Lord doth not account as men; for these things
must needs thus come to pass, for the furtherance of the kingdom
and government of Jesus Christ, that it may arise through all;
and if you were but faithful to what the Lord requires of you,
in your proceedings, what you have done unto them should not be
reckoned on account against you, neither by God, nor good men.
But if you of the army be always treacherous and disobedient
towards him, and abuse your power, and disregard your price that
God hath given you, and trifle away your hour about places of
honour, and such self-seeking matters, and the cause of God be
neglected by you, and his people continued oppressed sufferers
under you, as they have long been; even then shall you be cast
aside with shameful disgrace, and the heavy hand of the Lord
shall be upon you in judgment, and you shall be smitten more
than any before you; your estates shall not be spared from the
spoiler, nor your souls from the pit, nor your persons from the
violence of men, no, nor your necks from the axe: for if you be
unfaithful, and continually treacherous to the cause of God,
then shall you be left to the will of your enemies, and they
shall charge treachery and treason upon you, and your persons and
estates shall be given for a prey to your enemies; and you shall
not deliver yourselves, neither will the Lord deliver you from
the execution of merciless men; for my Lord shall leave the cruel
hearted to plead with you.
‘Wherefore, that you may be warned, I advise you to be faithful;
let not the cause of God fall, nor the cause of his enemies
prosper before you; for there is no other way whereby you can
be preserved, nor no other defence shall you ever find from the
wrath of the Lord, and from the fury of your devouring enemies,
than your faithfulness in God’s cause; and therefore relieve
the oppressed, and take off all oppressions, break down all
unjust laws, and set all people free from unjust burdens, and
let all oppression cease, both in church and civil state; and
even all oppressive laws, and unjust judges, and evil men in
power, let all these be removed, and the nation clean quitted
and discharged, even from all men and laws whatsoever, that have
held under oppression the persons, estates, and consciences of
the good people of this land; and let the nation be corrected,
and all orders and places of men, and laws and decrees be
purified: for this my Lord, the great King, requireth, and he
will suddenly have it brought to pass in the nation, if not by
you, then contrary to you, and to your utter destruction. And
this is the very substance of my message to you, that my Master
hath given me to say unto you; and on his behalf I am come to
claim of you my Master’s long lost right: let him have his right,
from which he hath long been banished; I demand it of you, all
ye whatsoever, that seem to bear rule in the nation; I charge
you in his name let him have his title and prerogative, let him
be Lord and King wholly in his own kingdom, let him have the
exercise of his people’s consciences by his own Spirit in all
things relating to his worship and service; and let him have the
full authority by his Spirit in all things pertaining to church
and ministry, and faith, and religion; and let his Spirit have
the alone authority to persuade and dissuade people from, or to,
such or such ministry, worship, and practices of religion; and
let all forced maintenance to ministers, and tithes, be speedily
taken away; and let all laws and decrees whatsoever, made and
practised in the days of antichrist, upon the bodies, estates,
and consciences of the people, in oppression and unjustness about
church, and worship, and religion, be utterly repealed, and made
void, and never more be in force in this nation; but let my Lord
be sole ruler and governor, and have the full authority in his
own kingdom, in all things whatsoever pertaining thereunto. And
let no man henceforth hereafter be intrusted with the liberties
of the members of Christ’s kingdom, as they are such, nor to
judge over them in any matters of faith and worship, but give
that right and privilege wholly unto the Spirit of Jesus Christ;
for unto him only it pertaineth to be whole judge, and to have
full power in his own kingdom; and until you give him the right,
and deliver up unto him his own kingdom, and the exercise of
peoples’ consciences in all things about religion, you shall
never prosper, nor none that cometh after you, that shall in any
measure abridge my Master of his proper right, from which he hath
long been banished, as I have said; and till his right be given
him, in the case aforesaid, he will dash one man against another,
and none shall ever be established; but horn after horn shall be
broken, and one power after another brought into confusion.
‘And, therefore, ye men, do not strive with him in this matter,
but yield unto him the exercise of your own consciences by his
Spirit in you, and let him do so unto all others, even as ye
hope to prosper, and upon the penalty of his sore displeasure
upon you in this world, and in the world to come; and let just
men, and righteous men, and meek men, and men that have the
fear and wisdom of God in them, without acceptation of birth, or
otherwise; let such men have the power and judgment committed
to them, to determine in things between man and man. Down with
all the false-hearted flatterers, that have ruled for man and
not for God, and for themselves, and not for the good of the
people; cast all such out from you; for the good among you is
choaked by them: down with all that judge for rewards; and away
with all hireling rulers, that execute the law for money, and
will not plead the cause of the poor without great fees; and down
with all that will not serve places of trust without so large
stipends; away with all these things out of the land, for they
are heinous oppressions unto men, and great abominations in the
sight of God; and the land hath long groaned under the weight
and burden of these things, and the earth is weary of them, and
my Lord requires their utter dissolution, as being iniquities
fully ripe, and having the guilt of so much cruelty, injustice,
and oppression lying upon the nation because hereof; therefore
is the Lord’s season to destroy them, and remove them out of the
land; which if you be the instruments in such a work, it will be
your greatest crown, and your perpetual honour. For the Lord’s
purpose is one way or other to cleanse the land of all these and
other oppressions whatsoever, that the people of this land may
be a free people from all the heavy yokes of antichrist, which
have long sorely pressed them down; and the purpose of the Lord
is to break the yokes of oppression and tyranny from off the
necks of this people; and therefore it is that he overturneth,
yea, and will overturn, all men and authorities that shall oppose
his work, and none shall be able to stand before him; for the
presence of my Lord is more dreadful to a nation, when he shows
himself in wrath, than any multitude of armed men; and wo is unto
you, if you be found opposing of him; and if you seek to stop his
work, you shall not cumber the earth very long, nor oppress the
nations many days. Wherefore consider, cursed will you be, if
you be unfaithful in what you have to do on the Lord’s behalf;
for your hour passeth over, that is allotted you; and will be
suddenly expired, never to be recalled, and then you cannot work.
‘And whereas there is a great cry about ministry, for sending
forth and maintaining, and encouraging a godly ministry, as you
say.
‘Now to this I do answer on my Lord’s behalf, and I must tell you
plainly; as for a true godly ministry, truly called and sent of
God, such a ministry, and such ministers you can never be able
to hinder; but the Lord will send them out, maintaining them
and preserving them, whether you will or no; and while you are
troubling yourselves about such a matter, you are but meddling
with things above your line, and out of your jurisdiction, while
you act in such a case; for it belongs to his government to send
out ministers, whom, and as he will, and to maintain them and
defend them according to his own pleasure, and all this without
you; for such ministers, truly called thereunto, and sent of
the Lord, will not seek to you to be sent forth, or maintained
by you, they will not be beholden to you in such a case; but
even without you, and contrary to you, must they be sent out
and maintained; so that the Lord will have a ministry in this
nation purely of his own, and not of man, nor by man, and such a
ministry you shall not be able to hinder.
‘And I must tell you plainly, as for these men called ministers,
in this nation, the way of their setting up, and sending forth,
and the way of their maintenance, and the way of their standing
and defence, and in every particular of their being such, they
are the greatest and most woful oppression in the nation; even
the most abominable and unjust cruelties and tyrannies are acted
through them, as any other thing in the nation; and they are,
(as such aforesaid,) the woful cause of the nation’s groaning
under merciless dealing; and there is upon their account, the
guilt of blood, injustice, and oppression lying upon this nation;
their iniquities, their iniquities, cry for vengeance upon their
own heads; for they are full, they are full, and the measure
thereof is near finished, and God’s eternal vengeance is their
next reward from the eternal God. What shall I say of them, but
this? The earth is oppressed by them, the inhabitants groan
under them, and the righteous God is vexed through them, and
they are the very men of high indignation and fierce wrath, and
all their practices, (as such,) are the fuel of his anger, to be
consumed by the fire of his jealousy; the nation is weary, and
its inhabitants, and the Lord is weary, because of these men: and
is this the ministry cried up by you as godly and pious? &c. Are
these the men that the nation must be forced to maintain in their
pride and idolatry? Is this the ministry that must be encouraged?
Well, if these be the men, and this the ministry which must be
established and encouraged by you, in so doing you shall never
prosper, but thereby gain the displeasure of the Almighty unto
you, to bring a curse upon all your doings, even because hereof;
for I must tell you, the hand of my Lord is against them; and
whosoever shall seek to defend them, shall not prosper in their
doings, because their oppressions, cruelties, deceits, and
abominations, are nigh finished and fulfilled; wherefore take
heed unto yourselves, for this is my Master’s advice unto you;
let this ministry alone, and join not yourselves to Baal, lest
you perish, neither take part with antichrist any longer, neither
be ye fighters against the Lamb and his kingdom; but free the
nation, and let all its inhabitants be freed, from the cruel
tasks and yokes of such men, and such a ministry as aforesaid;
uphold it not against the Lord, for if you do, you shall never be
established, and this is from the mouth of my Lord unto you.
‘And, last of all, my Master hath a people in this nation, even a
suffering people, that have borne the burden of the cruelty and
injustice, and wickedness, both of rulers and teachers, who have,
as it were, trodden them down, and made them a very prey to their
devouring mouths; the very cry of their sufferings hath reached
unto heaven, and the very sound thereof your ears have heard;
and this people are greatly beloved, and my Lord will assuredly
honour them, and his hand shall be continued to preserve them and
defend them against all their enemies whatsoever; and he doth
reserve them to himself, and for a glorious work that he hath to
do by them; and he hath formed them for himself, and they cannot
join with any of the horns of the great beast, neither can a
place of honour pervert them from their perfect way; but my Lord,
he compasseth them about on every side, and hath kept them in the
midst of trials, reproaches, and sufferings, and covered them in
the heat, and in the storm, till his pleasure is to make further
use of them. They are his, and not their own; and they must
fulfil his will, and none besides; and they lie at rest in him,
while mountains are overturned, and while one potsherd of the
earth breaks another; and this must be even till the appointed
time: and to say no more of them, though much more might be said,
they are had in remembrance before the Lord, to do with them even
for his own glory, and for the nation’s perpetual good; and to
the authority of the Most High, through them, shall kings of the
earth, and nations of the world bow and tremble; wherefore, ye
men, touch them not, neither do ye afflict them, even as you hope
to prosper; remember their cause, and suffer it not always to be
rejected, as it hath long been, but keep yourselves free from
the injustice and cruelty of them that have gone before you, who
have been merciless, and oppressors of that people, even till
my Lord hath confounded them, and brought them into confusion;
for there is the weight of blood, tyranny, and oppression, lying
upon the nation in that people’s cause, and my Lord will revenge
them in his season; and though they are not weary of their
sufferings, but are in the patience which beareth all things, yet
the nation can never be happy, nor its government ever blessed,
while this people are held in bondage; and their sufferings are
deeply considered of the Lord, and the season thereof is expiring
towards an end; and when this cometh to pass, then wo unto the
kingdom of antichrist, and to the whore and false prophet, even
when their strength is dried up, by which they have made war
against the Lamb and his followers: yea, wo unto them; great
fearfulness shall be upon all the world when the king of that
people reigns upon the earth, and the time is at hand: blessed
is the man that waiteth for it, and blessed is he that is not
offended in his coming, but is prepared to receive him in his
appearing, which suddenly cometh upon all the world.
‘And thus I have told the Lord’s present message unto you, which
I received from him, and thus far I am clear; and whether you
accept it, or reject it, my peace and reward is forever with him,
who am a subject of his kingdom, and a friend to this nation,
however otherwise judged by ignorant men.