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ble: the people shall tremble, and all faces shall gather blackness, and the people shall be much pained." And now this trembling is witnessed by the power of the Lord: this power of the Lord is come; the trumpet is sounding, the earth is shaking, the inhabitants of the earth are trembling, the dead is arising, and the living is praising God; and the world is raging, and the scoffers are scorning, and they that witness trembling and quaking wrought in them by the power of the Lord, can scarce pass up and down the streets, but with stones, and blows, and fists, and sticks, or dogs set at them, or pursued with mocks and reproaches. Thus you vent forth your malice against them that witness the power of the Lord, as the prophets did, who are come to the broken heart and contrite spirit, and who tremble at the word of the Lord, whom the Lord regards these you stone, these you stock, these you set your dogs at, these you scoff and scorn, these you revile and reproach: but those reproaches are our riches; praised be the Lord, who hath given us power over them. And if you see one, as Habakkuk, whose lips quivered, whose belly shook, who said rottenness was entered into his bones, and who trembled in himself; if you see such an one in this condition now, ye say he is bewitched. Here again you shew yourselves strangers to that power, to that life, that was in the prophet: therefore for shame, never make a profession of his words, nor a trade of his words; nor of Joel's, who witnessed trembling, which ye scorn and scoff at. Ye proud scoffers and scorners, misery, misery is your end, except you speedily repent. Daniel, a servant of the most high God, he trembled, his strength and his breath was gone: he was prisoned, he was hated, he was persecuted; they laid baits and snares for him, in whom the holy Spirit of God was. Now for shame all you that make a profession of Daniel's words, give over your profession, priests and people, who scoff and scorn at trembling with the light you are seen to be out of Daniel's life, and by the same power you are judged, at which you scorn and scoff. And so here again be ye witnesses against yourselves, that you are scorners and scoffers against the truth; and with the scripture you are judged to be contrary to the life of the holy men of God. Paul, a minister of God, made by the will of God, a messenger of the Lord Jesus, a vessel of the Lord's, to carry his name abroad into several nations, when the dark, blind world have got some of his words and epistles, you filthy teachers made a trade of them, and get great sums of money for it, and so destroy souls for dishonest gain; making a trade of his words, and

of the rest of the apostles' and prophets', and of Christ's words, but denying the spirit and life that they were guided by, and that power which shook the flesh and the earth, which the apostle witnessed, who said when he came among the Corinthians, he was then with them in weakness and fear, and in much trembling, that their faith might not stand in the wisdom of words, but in the power of God; in that power which made him to tremble. This power it is that the world, and all the scoffing teachers, scoff at and scorn in your towns, in your villages, in your assemblies, in your ale-houses (for shame lay away all your profession of the apostle's words and conditions!) and some of them that scoff at this power, call it the power of the devil; and some persecute them, and stone and stock, imprison and whip them, in whom that power is made manifest, and lade them with reproaches, as not worthy to walk on the earth; hated and persecuted, as the off-scouring of all things. Here you may see you are in the steps of your fore-fathers, who persecuted the apostles, and acted so against them; stocked them, mocked them, prisoned them, stoned them, whipped them, haled them out of the synagogues, reproached them, and shamefully entreated them. Do not you here fulfil the scripture, and Christ's saying, who said, "If they kill you, they will think they do God service." Yet you make a profession of Christ's words, of the prophets' and apostles' words, and call yourselves churches, and ministers of the gospel. I charge you in the presence of the living God, to be silent, who act such things! and mind the light in your consciences (ye scoffers and scorners) which Christ hath enlightened you withal; that with it ye may see yourselves, what ye act, and what ye have acted; for who act such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God; for all such things are by the light condemned.

And who come to witness trembling and quaking, the powers of the earth to be shaken, the lustful nature come to be destroyed, the scorning and scoffing nature judged by the light; in it wait to receive power from him who shakes the earth. That power we own, and our faith stands in it, which all the world scoffs at; the lofty ones, the proud ones, the presumptuous ones, which live in presumption, and yet make a profession of the scriptures, as your fathers the pharisees did, who were painted sepulchres and serpents; and as the scribes did, who had the chiefest places in the assemblies, stood praying in the synagogues, and were called of men masters, which Christ cried wo against; who are not come so far as the trembling of

devils, who believed and trembled: let that judge you. The light and life of the scripture is seen and made manifest, and with it all you scoffers, and all you scorners, and all you persecutors and railers are seen.

Take warning, all ye powersof the earth, how ye persecute them whom the world nick-name and call Quakers, who dwell in the eternal power of God; lest the hand of the Lord be turned against you, and ye be all cut off. To you this is the word of God, fear and tremble, and take warning! for this is the man whom the Lord doth regard, who trembles at his word; which you, who are of the world, scoff and scorn, stock, persecute and imprison. Here ye may see ye are contrary to God, contrary to the prophets; and are such as hate what the Lord regards; which we, whom the world scorns, and calls Quakers, own, And we exalt that power, and honour that power, that makes the devils tremble, and shakes the earth, and throws down the loftiness of man, and the haughtiness of man, and which makes the beasts of the field to tremble, and makes the earth to reel to and fro, and cleaves the earth asunder, and overturneth the world. This power we own, and honour, and preach up, whom the world scornfully calls Quakers but all scoffers and persecutors, railers and scorners, stockers and whippers, we deny by that power which throweth down all that nature; as seeing that all who act such things without repentance, shall not inherit the kingdom of God, but are for destruction.

'So rejoice, all ye righteous ones, who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for great is your reward in heaven. Rejoice, ye that suffer for well doing, for ye shall not lose your reward. And wait you in the light, that you may grow up in the life that gave forth the scriptures; that with it ye may see the saints' conditions, and with it ye may see all that which they testified against: and there with it ye will see the state of those that did reproach and scoff them; and did mock them and persecute them; and did whip and stock them, and haled them out of the synagogues before magistrates. So to you, who are in the same light and life, the same things do they now; that they may fill up the measure of their fathers. With the light now they are seen, where the light and life, and power of God is made manifest; for as they did unto them, so will they do unto you. Here is our joy; and the scripture is fulfilled, and fulfilling and with the light, which was before the world was, which is now made manifest in the children of light; with it they see the world, and comprehend it, and the actions of it: for he that loves the world, and turns

from the light, is an enemy to God; he turneth into wickedness; for the whole world lieth in wickedness. He who turns from the light, turns into the works of evil, which the light of Christ testifies against: and by this light, where it is made manifest, all the works of the world are seen and made manifest.'

This is to go abroad among the scattered ones, and among the world.

G. F.

Great was the rage and enmity of the people, professors as well as prophane, against the truth and people of God at this time; and great the contempt and disdain they shewed of friends' plainness. Wherefore I was moved to write the following paper, and sent it forth, directed as

An Epistle to gathered Churches into outward forms, upon the earth.

All ye gathered churches into outward forms upon the earth, the Son of God is come to reign, and he will tread and trample, and will shake, and make you quake and quiver, you that be found without his life, out of his light, and without his power. His day hath appeared; mortar and clay will you be found. Breaking and shaking, and quaking is coming among you! your high building is to be laid desolate; your professed liberty shall be your bondage: the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. Tremble, ye hypocrites, ye notionists! the fenced cities shall be laid desolate, the fruitful fields shall become a wilderness ; your false joy shall become your heaviness: the time of weeping and desolation draweth nigh! come ye witty ones, see how ye can stand before the Almighty, who is now come to plead with you: you will fall like leaves, and wither like weeds! come you that have boasted of my name, saith the Lord, and have gloried in the flesh, ye shall fade like a flower; who have slain my witness, yet boast of my words, which have been as a song unto you. Come ye novelty-ones, who love novelties, changeable suits of apparel, who be in the fashions, outward and inward, putting on one thing this day, and another the other day; I'll strip thee, saith the Lord, I'll make thee bare, I'll make thee naked, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. What! hast thou professed the prophets' words? hast thou professed the apostles' words, and my Son's words? hast thou covered thyself with their expressions? thinkest thou not that I see thee out of my life? thinkest

thou, thou witty one, to hide thyself where none can see thee? thinkest thou, if thou fliest to the uttermost parts of the earth, that I am not there? Is not the earth mine, and the fulness of it, saith the Lord? Come all ye that have trusted in your own conceited notions, and knowledge, and wisdom, who were never yet out of the earth, and the lusts of it, and never yet got the load of thick clay off you, and never were out of the drunken spirit, whose imperfection appears, who must be come upon, as a potter's vessel, broken cisterns; and ye that have been made wise in your own conceit, and wise in your own eyes, in which pride hath lifted you up, and not the humility, you must be abased. You have run on with every one after his own invention, and every man hath done that thing that was right in his own eyes, and that which did please himself: this hath been the course of people upon earth. Ye have run on without a king, without Christ, the light of the world, which hath enlightened every one that is come into the world: but now is truth risen, now are your fruits withering. And you that are fortified, and have fortified your strong houses, called your churches, make you your cords strong, the Lord will break you asunder, ye that are gathering in, and ye that are gathered. For the Lord is risen to scatter you; his witness is risen in the hearts of his people, they will not be fed with dead words, nor with that which dies of itself; nor will they be satisfied with the husk which the swine feeds upon. And all ye priests in the nation, and teachers, that now stand against the light, your envy shews that ye be in Cain's way; your greediness shews that ye be in Balaam's way your standing against the light which hath enlightened every man that cometh into the world, doth manifest that you are in Core's way, that spoke the great high words of vanity; ye, whose consciences are seared as with an hot iron, whose judgment doth not linger, whose damnation doth not slumber, who serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but your own bellies; who are the evil beasts spoken of, which have destroyed many families, taken away their cattle, their horses, their goods, even their household goods; destroyed many poor men, even whole families, taking their whole estates from them, whom you do no work for. O! the grievous actions that are seen done by you, the ministers of unrighteousness; whose fruits declare to the whole nation that you are the devil's messengers! your actions declare it; your taking tithes, augmentations, treble damages, Midsummer dues (as ye call them), of them ye do no work for, nor minister to.

And all ye powers of the earth, beware of holding such