THE FOLLOWING PAPER WAS PUBLISHED 1654, WITH SEVERAL PAPERS OF OTHER FRIENDS. To all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, mercy and peace be multiplied unto you. WHO have been scattered abroad in the cloudy dark day from mountain to mountain, and worshipping that which you know not, following the imagination of others, which they spake from the divination of their own brain,* and not from the mouth of the Lord,† shepherds that fed themselves, and clothed themselves with the wool, and sought after the fleece, and so made a prey upon us, and upon the people. Our God (as he promised, saying, I will gather my sheep from your mouths, and seek them which have been scattered in the cloudy dark day) hath gathered us, and doth feed us upon the mountain in a good pasture; and so we witness the promise of the Lord fulfilled: and as the Lord said I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, through that one shepherd Jesus Christ; herein do we witness the Lord fulfilling the scriptures in us, and I witness the lost sheep is found; and the Lord hath brought back again that which was driven away; and here do we deny all the teachers of the world, who speak a divination of their own brain,§ and not from the mouth of the Lord;|| for who spoke from the mouth of the Lord, denied them then; so do we by the same word and we deny all them that seek for gain from their quarters, which are greedy dumb dogs, as the scripture saith; and all those who take the people's money, and sell the letter, which was spoken forth freely; for Isaiah that spake from the mouth of the Lord, he denied such things, and bid all come freely, without money, and without price, to hear the voice of the Lord, that their souls might live, and to make with them an everlasting covenant, even the sure mercies of David: and this covenant I do witness; therefore I deny with the same word, wherewith they spake, the same things the scripture denieth, and all those that bear rule by their means, and hirelings which preach for hire, and prophecy for money. For Jeremy, who had the eternal word, denied such things,** Micah denied such things;†† and Jesus Christ who was the word, said, the hireling would flee, because he is an hireling and this word the Lord hath made manifest, which gathers our hearts together up to God, and opens to us the scriptures,§§ whereby we see the deceits of the Ezek. 34. 12. Isa. 65. 10, 11, 12. # John 10. 13, 14 † Jer. 23. Isa. 55. 1, 2, 3, 4. §§ 2 Cor. 5. 19. Ezek. 34. 23. ** Jer. 5. 30, 31. Jer. 23. 16. tt Mic. 3. 11. Priests of the world now, of the same generation and nature, and acting those things there is no scripture for, which the holy men of God did not practice. And for taking tythes, in the old time Levi was to receive tythes,* and the strangers, the fatherless and widows were to come and eat, and be filled within his gate; but this was according to the law; and here you see the priests of the world do not act according to the law, in which were types and figures of Christ; and when Christ was come, those he sent forth were not to have a bag, nor a stick to defend them, nor two coats, nor brass, nor silver; but freely ye have received, freely give the workman is worthy of his meat; so they neither walk according to the law, nor the gospel, therefore we deny them; and the minister of Jesus Christ, which went into the world, they had no portion of the world, but whipping, stocking, prisoning.‡ But they that were gathered out of the world in the eternal word, which met together, and were of one heart, one mind, one soul, to such they said, if we minister unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if you minister to us carnal things? This was spoken to them upon whom the end of the world was come; and this I do witness, what the scripture doth say: God commanded an outward temple, circumcision, the sabbath, given as figures and types, and shadows of Jesus Christ;|| but when Jesus Christ, the substance was come, and when he was crucified and risen, who believed in him, preached his resurrection, and so went up and down in the synagogues, and into the temple, reasoning and disputing with them that held them up, to bring them out of the figure, up to Jesus Christ, who was the substance; so all which were gathered together in the substance, met together, and then the church was in God,** and they denied the outward temple, which God commanded, being made the temples of God;†† and denied circumcision outwardly, being circumcised with the spirit; and denied the Jewish sabbath outwardly, and observing days;§§ for he that believes is entered into his rest, and hath ceased from his own work, even as God from his.|||| And all those now, who have received Jesus Christ the substance, who is the head of the church, deny all types and figures of him, and do witness the scriptures fulfilled; and Jesus Christ, who is the mediator between God and man, being made manifest in them, makes them all of one mind, and one heart, and to deny the priests of the world, who profess him in words, and act those things he forbids.¶¶ As, first, sprinkling of infants, and telling people they baptize them into the faith, into the church, which there is no scripture for; but the baptism by one spirit into one body, this we own; and the church is in God, as Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus wrote to the church of the Thessalonians, which was in God.† And they tell people of a sacrament, for which there is no scripture; that we do deny, and them; but the Supper of the Lord we own: the bread that we break is the communion of the body of Christ, the cup we drink is the communion of the blood of Christ, all made to drink into one spirit. And the singing of psalms after their manner, we deny; for they sing David's tremblings, quakings and roarings; this they have turned into metre; as if we should see one of you lie roaring and crying, till his eyes should grow dim, and watering his bed with tears,§ and we should turn it into metre, and make a rhyme of it, and take it, and go among a company of ignorant people, and say, let us sing to the praise and glory of God. O Lord, I am not puffed in mind, I have no scornful eye, when they are puffed in minds, and have scornful eyes: and when they read the psalms, they keep on their hats, and when they sing them, they keep off their hats; here they worship the work of their own hands; all such practices we deny: but we will sing with the spirit, we will sing with grace, we will sing with understanding, praises, praises unto the Lord God on high. And they speak a divination of their own brain, and not from the mouth of the Lord; and such the Lord sent his prophets to cry out against;¶ all these now who study a divination of their own brain, and speak not from the mouth of the Lord, we do deny : and all who are made ministers by Oxford and Cambridge, bred up with learning, and so made ministers by the will of men,** and speak natural languages, as Hebrew and Greek, and say that is the original, which a natural man may learn, and the natural man knows not the things of God, and all such we do deny ; for Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, in the Jewish religion, but that did not make him a minister of Jesus Christ; for he declares that he was not made a minister by the will of man, nor of man, neither by man, but by the will of God, and all such I own, who stand out of the will of man, denying all carnal ends; for this ministry draws up to God out of the world, and doth not respect any man's person, but ministers to that which is in prison. But those teachers which are made by man, say, the letter is the light, the letter is the word; the four§§ books,. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is the gospel, when the letter saith, Christ is the glad tidings which was promised, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, and this we witness to be fulfilled. * 1 Cor. 12. 13. † 1 Thes. 1. 1. 1 Cor. 10. 15, 16, 17. § Psal. 6. 6. & 131. 1. 1 Cor. 14. 15. ¶ Col. 3. 16. ** 1 Cor. 2. 14. Gal. 1. 14. & 1. 1. ## 1 Pet. 3. 19. The gospel of Christ, which is the power of God to salvation, Rom. 1. 16. was before the four books were, though they contain true declarations thereof. All they that are in the light are in unity; for the light is but one, and who know the light are in unity; all who know the word, which is a mystery, are come to the beginning, are sanctified by the word, and clean through the word; for this word is a fire, burning up all corruption, as an hammer beats down all high minds, high nature, that the pure seed may be raised up; as a sword cuts to pieces, and divides asunder the precious from the vile, and makes a separation inwardly and outwardly from uncleanness; and this is the word of reconciliation, that reconcileth together to God, and gathers the hearts of his together,† to live in love and unity one with another, and lets them sce how they have been strangers and aliens from the life of God; the light and the word draws from under the occasion of all laws outwardly. working out that filthy nature which the outward law takes hold on; so walking in the spirit,** there is not a fulfilling the lusts of the flesh; and the spirit is but one, which baptizeth into one body, which we do witness to be fulfilled;‡‡ praise be to the Lord. And whereas we are a people accused to raise up a new war, it is false; for dwelling in the word, it takes away the occasion of wars, and gathers our hearts together to God, and unto one another, and brings to the beginning, before wars were; for the ministers of God, which had the word of reconciliation to draw them from the occasion of all wars, working out that nature that occasions war, said, whence do wars arise? even from the lusts.§§ Therefore, all dear people, who love the Lord Jesus Christ, and the appearance of Jesus Christ in your souls, be not talkers of the truth, nor followers of the blind guides,|||| but mind the pure light of God in you, which shews your sin and evil, and how you have spent your time, and shows you how your minds go forth, and every carnal thought; and if you love that light, you love Christ,¶¶ and walking in the light in measure, there will be no occasion of stumbling, for all stumbling is in being disobedient, and wait to find the word in you, as the scripture saith; not to fetch it from above, nor from beneath; but what saith it? It is nigh thee, in thy heart, for with the heart man believeth, and with the tongue confession is made unto salvation:*** and abiding inwardly in the light, it will let you see one another, and the unity one with another, and the teachers of the world to be the ministers of the letter. And whereas we are accused for going into steeple-houses, it was the practice of the apostles to go into the synagogues, reasoning and disputing about the scriptures,ttt shewing them the substance, and they told them that God did not dwell in temples made with hands, neither was he worshipped with men's hands: Stephen saith, the most high dwells not in temples made with hands, and for witnessing forth the substance, was stoned to death; but these were types of Jesus Christ. And the saints who were made the temples of God, denied the outward temple; but there is a ministry now which doth in words profess Jesus Christ, holds up these outward temples, and as Moses, which was a type of Christ, which was a servant, was faithful in his house, so the deceit (after him) got into his place, and was called of men masters, which sat in his seat, which pretended justice, and did it not; and that was the time before Christ was sacrificed up, who came to fulfil the law, and not to break it; but he cried, woe unto them that were called of men masters,† and had the chiefest place in the assemblies, and laid heavy burthens upon the people, and painted themselves with the prophets' words. But when Jesus Christ was sacrificed and risen, and his ministers preached his resurrection, they did not hold up the types and figures then, but held forth the substance, Jesus Christ; and all who were gathered together in the substance, were of one heart, one mind, one soul, and met together, and exhorted one another, and builded up one another in the most holy faith,‡ and all true building is in that which is holy; (and this faith I witness) which is but one, and all are one that are in it, if ten thousand, which purifies the heart, stands in God; glory and honour to the highest; and whom Jesus Christ made ministers, he made them not masters; but said, be ye not called masters, for ye have one master, even Jesus Christ.§ But the teachers of the world, who in words profess the Lord Jesus Christ, are called of men masters, and lay heavy burthens upon the people, go in long robes, having the chiefest place in the assemblies, standing praying in the synagogues; and they that did so, Christ Jesus said, their prayers were heathenish; which shows they were never taught of him, for they abode not in his doctrine; and he that abideth not in the truth is of the devil;|| and here they show themselves neither to follow Jesus Christ the example, nor the apostles as an example, but take the scriptures to trade withal. And all those which Jesus Christ, the prophets and apostles do deny, we deny. When the apostles spake to the saints, he bade them take heed to the light that shined in a dark place, till the day dawned, and the day-star arose in their hearts;¶ and as the light appeared, so they exhorted one another; for there were false prophets, and false teachers among the people, which with feigned words and covetousness, made merchandize of them, who had forsaken the right way, following the ways of Balaam, going in the way of Cain, whose sacrifice God did not accept.** Now † Mat. 23. 6. * Heb. 3.5. 1 John 3. 8. 2 Pet. 1. 19. + Acts 4. 32. Jude 20. Eph. 4. 5. § Mat. 23.6.7. |