ment, to separate dear and tender husbands from their dear and tender wives, and tender children, and little innocent babes; Oh! How do you rend the bowels of the meek of the earth, whom God hath blessed? What is become of all your promises of liberty for tender consciences? God's curse and vengeance will come upon you, and his plagues will pursue you to destruction if ye proceed in this work; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless; the Lord hath spoken it. If you had the hearts of men, or of flesh, ye would be afraid, and blush at the very thoughts hereof; my heart and soul melt within me, and I am even bowed down with cries to God in my spirit, to think of the hardness of your hearts.'

"God Almighty, cut short thy work in righteousness, and shorten the days of oppression and cruelty for thine Elect's sake; which cry night and day unto thee; and make known thy name and power to the ends of the earth; and let the heathen hear, and fear, and bow to thy righteous sceptre; and let the kings of the earth lay down their crowns at the feet of the Lamb, that through thy righteous judgments they may partake of thy tender mercies, which endure for ever; that their eyes may be no longer withholden, nor blinded by the god of this world (the power and prince of darkness)

but that they may come to see thee, who art invisible, and enjoy the same precious life of pure unfeigned love, which abounds in the hearts of thy hidden ones; and receive thy peaceable wisdom, to be governed, and to govern therein; then would they surely know, that we are thine, and confess to thy glorious truth, and speak good of thy name, and magnify thy power, and no longer count the blood of thy everlasting covenant (wherewith we are sanctified) as an unholy thing."

"But thou O righteous, holy, pure, eternal God, art unknown unto all them that sit in darkness, and dwell in the spirit of enmity against thee and thy people; though thou art come near to judgment, according to the promise, Mal. iii. 5, And thy way of life and salvation is hid from them, therefore they hate us without a cause, and thus evilly intreat us in the darkness of their minds, and in the ignorance and hardness of their hearts; for which my soul doth pity them, and even intreat thee for them, that if possible their eyes may yet be opened, and their hearts yet softened, and their spirits humbled, that they may see what they are doing in the dark, and consider the effect of their work, which will assuredly follow and if thy warnings and gentle visitations will not humble them, then let thy judgments awaken

them, and bring them down, and humble them, that they may perceive something of what thou art doing (in these latter days) and art resolved to do to the ends of the earth, though the whole world should gather and band together to oppose thy work and people; for thou hast begun (and thou wilt go through and perfect) thy work; thou wilt raise thy seed, and gather thy elect from the four winds. and bring them from the ends of the earth, and scatter the proud in the vain imaginations of their hearts; and thou wilt break thy way through all that oppose thee in this the day of thy mighty power, in which thou art arisen (as a giant to run his race) to make an end of sin, and bring in and establish everlasting righteousness; that the kingdoms of this world may become the kingdom of thee and of thy Christ, as thou hast promised, and art now fulfilling; glory, and honour, and thanks, be to thy glorious name, world without end. Amen.

"So friends, ye are and have been warned again by the faithful messengers and servants of the Lord, in love to your souls; and you are left without excuse, if words should never more be mentioned unto you; by which you might perceive, how the Lord did strive with you, that ye might repent, and be saved from the wrath to come, though some of you feel little of it in your own consciences; but his spirit will

not always strive with you: for if you will not believe them, but slight and reject them, and neither make conscience of what hath proceeded out of your own mouth, nor regard to perform your own words and public engagements, in that which is just, which the Lord requireth of you, nor remember his by-past and present mercies, and long suffering towards you, but trample all under foot; I say, if it be thus with you, and you are resolved to go on, you will be wholly given up, and be exceedingly hardened, and grow desperate in cruelty and oppression against God, and his truth and people, till your whole earth is filled with violence: and then (as true as God liveth) will the flood come upon you, and ye shall fall after the manner of Egypt; and the weight of the dreadful judgments, due for all your abominations and cruelties, shall sink you down into the pit that is bottomless, and that suddenly, as the Lord hath spoken,

"By his servant, who is a lover of the welfare of all your souls, and I am thus far clear of all your blood,

.

Written in the tenth month, 1664, at Hertford.

"William Bayly.”

Again in December, twelve of those called Quakers, were condemned to banishment; for it was resolved to go on, not regarding what

George Bishop gave forth in print, and caused to be delivered to the king and the members of parliament, being as followeth :

To the King and both Houses of Parliament, thus saith the Lord.

"Meddle not with my people, because of their conscience to me, and banish them not out of the nation because of their conscience; for if ye do, I will send my plagues upon you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Written in obedience to the

Lord, by his servant,

Bristol, the 25th of the
ninth month, 1664.

"George Bishop."

The fulfilling of this prediction we shall see ; for within a short time a war ensued with the Dutch, and the pestilence appeared in London; but before it broke out, yet more of the imprisoned Quakers were condemned to banishment, viz. two and thirty persons, both men and women, who were sentenced by the court on the 6th, 14th, and 15th of December; for whatever they said in defence of themselves, proved ineffectual. One asked, if we meet really to worship God, must we suffer for that? And judge Hide answered, Yes, that you must."

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