beafts of the field, and fowls of the air; a land of judgment, and not of promife; of curfes, and not ⚫ of bleffings.'

My friends, whilft the sense of this diftrefs, that is coming as a dreadful vifitation from the hand of the difpleafed God, upon this ungodly land, to ftain its glory, bring down its pride, and punish its forgetfulnefs of the Lord, and his many deliverances, lay fo heavy upon my fpirit, the Lord prefented before me all the truly confcientious and well-inclined people in these nations; and more efpecially YOU, his defpifed, but chofen generation, for whofe fake he would yet have mercy. And, in the midst of his judgments, THIS I received for you from the Lord, as his holy will and counfel; and it often fprung in my heart, with a very fresh and strong life,

TO THY TENTS, O ISRAEL!

TO THY TENTS, O ISRAEL!

GOD is thy TENT; to thy GOD, O ISRAEL!

Prepare, O friends, to ftand in this day before the Lord, (that is in the first place) for ye alfo fhall have your exercife: yea, great is that work which ye have to do for the Lord, by his powerful but very peaceable Spirit; for God will, by all these hurries, confusions, and vexations that are at the door, drive people from their false gods, and bring them home to HIMSELF. He will throw down wickednefs, and establish righteousness: he will wafte fin, but truth shall grow. He will debase the mountain of empty profeffion, but the "mountain of his holinefs fhall be exalted." He hath determined to raise up, and renown, the feed of light, life, and truth, in the hearts of people: holy patience, meekness, wisdom, love, faith, purity, and perfeverance (fo much wanting in the world) fhall be feen to dwell in it, and only to come from it. And my witness is, That ye are the people, through whom this heavenly feed of righteousness must clearly and fted

faftly

fastly so shine unto others, in these uneven and rough times that are come, and coming, as that your heavenly Father may be glorified by you.

Wherefore, in the name of the Lord, be ye all difencumbered of the world, and difcharged of the cares of it: fly, as for your lives, from the fnares therein, and get you into your watch tower, the NAME of the LORD! Which is not a dead name, or a mere literal name, but a living, fpiritual, and very powerful name; a strong tower indeed, yea, an invincible fortrefs; where dwell ye with God, and in him who fpeaketh peace to his children, and ordains quietnefs for them that trust in him. He will make you to lie down fafely, even then when darkness and confufion fhall be thick about you; yea, ye fhall live in the fire, that will confume the ftubble of the world, and your garments shall not be so much as finged; for the Son of GOD, whom the flames, as well as winds and feas, obey, will be in the midst of you.

Next, friends, this know; we are the people, above all others, that muft ftand in the gap, and pray for the putting away of the wrath, fo as that this land be not made an utter defolation; and God expects it at our hands. Prepare ye therefore to meet and fanctify the Lord in his coming and judgments! Why stand any of you gazing? Let none gaze or look out, I befeech you; that is the enemy's work, to weaken you within; but be ye retired, be ye centered in the Eternal One: and meditate upon the Lord, and his living pure law, that ye may be wife in heart, and travail in fpirit for this poor land, and that for enemies as well as friends. The Lord is ready to hear you for this people, when you are ready to intercede: and I teftify, Abraham is amongst you, God's friend, and his juft Lot too; yea, Jacob that prevailed; and one that is greater than all, JESUS, the Lamb of God, whofe blood fpeaketh better things than that of Abel, in whom is the mediation and atonement. Be therefore encouraged to wait upon the Lord, and to bow before him, and humbly to mediate, in the life of Jesus,

with him: I know he will put it in your hearts fo to do, if ye wait upon him; for he will not caft off this land, as he did Sodom; he hath a right feed, a noble people in it, that he hath and yet will gather: many Theep there be, not yet of our fold, whom he will bring in; and the foul weather and the storms will but help to drive them home to JESUS, the living and true witness, and light within; that he, whom God hath ordained to reign, may be great in them.

And lastly, my dear friends and brethren, by how much this day draws nigh, by fo much the more do ye ftand loofe in your affections to the world, but fast in the faith; and affemble yourselves together, and let God arise in you, and his power and spirit of life among you, that ye may not only wreftle, but in the end prevail, that it may be feen that "falvation is of "the Jews," the Jews inward, in fpirit and in truth: and truly the time haftens, that "ten fhall take hold "of the skirt of fuch a Jew; and they fhall be faved." But wo to the hypocrite in that day, the formalift, the Jew outward, the circumcifion in the flesh, and fleshly Chriftian, that cannot refift the temptations of this world; the temporizer; one that runs with the tide; he will be divided: for there will be more tides, more interests on foot at once, than one: wherefore perplexity will take hold on him, his policy will be confounded; he will not know what to do to be safe, nor what to join with; this "double-minded man " will be unstable in his counfels and in his actions, his fandy foundation will be fhaken. Therefore, as I faid, Wo to the hypocrite, and to the covetous man too, for his god will fail him; the thief, the moth and ruft will invade his bags, and furprize his treasure: his anguish will be great in this day: but, my dear brethren, as the power and fpirit of our Lord God will preferve and establish us, if we fincerely and entirely confide therein, and that above our folicitation, or need of carnal confultation or contrivances, which we have therefore laid afide; fo fhall it vindicate us, in due time, in the eyes of all nations, and prefent us a peo

ple

ple owned, beloved, and protected of God, in whom we have firmly believed. Nor is this prefumption, as fome may think; who being not fo well acquainted with that entire refignation, and fupreme faith (of which JESUS is the Author) that removes mountains into the fea, conclude, from mere natural and human confiderations, against us; yet we know him in whom we have believed; and the fame that hath cured us of our diseases, the fame faid unto us, "Arife, and walk " in this way of FAITH; truft in me, and not in ano"ther." And truly, this is much of that wonder which men fhall have in their minds and mouths about us in thofe latter days; In troubles not to be dejected, and in jeopardies not to be concerned to 'make to ourselves defences:' as the lilies, that neither toil nor fpin, yet feed and grow, fo we may both be preserved, and become victorious, without worldly force or projections: for we must shew ourselves to be that little city and hill of God, that hath only his falvation for our walls and bulwarks; by whom he will renown his arm, and magnify his power, above the arts and contrivances of men. Our weapons and our armour is Spiritual; it hath prevailed, and it will prevail, if we keep in the "faith which was first de"livered to us:" a bleffed fhield, by which the just live.

And therefore, my dear friends, let us be careful not to mingle with the crowd, left their spirit enter us, instead of our spirit entering them, and we thereby come to fall into the fame temptations they are liable to, of fear, and flying to the hills and mountains to protect them, confiding in the arm of flesh to deliver them: no, no; they must come to us, we must not go to them. Yet can we not be infenfible of their infirmities, as well as we fhall not be free from fome of their fufferings; we muft make their cafe as our own, and travail alike in fpirit for them as for ourfelves. Let us ftand in the counsel of our God, and he will make us preachers forth to them of the works of his divine power, and the virtue of that faith which VOL. IV.

Q

comes

comes from heaven; yea, he will make us as faviours to the people, that they may come to know the holy law and word of the Lord, their Creator, in their hearts, and have their minds and fouls turned to him, and stayed upon him, that iniquity may no more abound, nor ungodlinefs find a place; but that in truth, righteousness, and peace, they may be eftablished, and the land keep its fabbath to the Lord for ever! Then shall God lift up the "light of his coun"tenance upon us," and water us from heaven, and bless us with all temporal and fpiritual bleffings; and we shall be yet called, "THE ISLAND SAVED BY THE "LORD." Amen, Amen.

This was upon my foul from God to you: I could not vifit you all with a diftinct meffage upon many accounts: befides, the time is thort, and the confufion appears to me to be at hand: therefore have I fent it by way of epiftle, with the brotherly falutation of unfeigned and unalterable love to you all, in your refpective meetings and families. And the Lord God of our vifitation and redemption, ftir you up to these things, and keep us all in his holy fear, wisdom, love, and patience, through all thofe travails and exercises, to the end of our days; that having finished our teftimonies, our heads may go down to the grave in peace, and our fouls be received into the reft which is reserved for the righteous with God, and with his bleffed Lamb for ever.

I am

Your brother and companion through the many tribulations of our day and teftimony,

Worminghurft in Suffex, the 4th

of the 9th month, 1678.

W. PEN N.

I defire that this epiftle may be read, in the fear of the Lord, in your feveral meetings.

ENGLAND's