“The word of the Lord to all you that scorn trembling, and quaking; who scoff at, scorn, stone, and belch forth oaths against, those who are trembling and quaking; threatening them, and beating them. Strangers ye are to all the apostles and prophets; and are of the generation that stoned them, and mocked them in those ages. Ye are the scoffers of whom they spoke, that are come in the last times. Be ye witnesses against yourselves. To the light in all your consciences I speak, that with it you may see yourselves to be out of the life of the holy men of God.

“Moses, who was judge over all Israel, trembled, feared, and quaked: when the Lord said unto him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.’ This, which makes to tremble now, ye teachers and people scoff at, and scorn them in your streets who witness the power of the Lord. Moses forsook the pleasures of the world, which he might have enjoyed for a season. He might have been called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; he refused it, and forsook Pharaoh’s house; yet was no vagabond. David, a king, trembled; he was mocked; they made songs on him; they wagged their heads at him. Will you profess David’s words, and Moses’s words, who are in the generation of your fathers, mockers, scoffers, wonderers, and despisers, who are to perish? O blush! be ashamed of all your profession, and be confounded! Job trembled, his flesh trembled, and they mocked him: so do you now mock them in whom the same power of God is made manifest; and yet you profess Job’s words. O deceitful hypocrites! will ye not own Scripture? O shame! never profess Scripture words, and deny the power, which, according to Scripture, makes the keepers of the house to tremble, and the strong man to bow himself. These things both priests, magistrates, and people scoff at; but with the power ye are judged, and by the power and life condemned.

“The prophet Jeremiah trembled, he shook, his bones quaked, he reeled to and fro, like a drunken man, when he saw the deceits of the priests and prophets, who were turned from the way of God; they were not ashamed, neither could they blush. Such were gone from the light; and such were they that ruled over the people. But he was brought to cry, O foolish people! that had eyes, and could not see; that had ears, and could not hear; that did not fear the Lord, and tremble at his presence, who placed the sands for bounds to the sea, by a perpetual decree, that the waves thereof cannot pass! And he said, ‘A horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means. Shall not I visit for these things, saith the Lord? Shall not my soul be avenged upon such a nation as this?’ They were such as did not tremble at the word of the Lord; therefore he called them a foolish people. Hear all ye the word of the Lord, ye foolish people, who scorn trembling and quaking. Give over professing the prophet Jeremiah’s words, and making a trade of them; for with his words you are judged to be among the scoffers, scorners, and stockers. For he was stocked by your generation; and you now stock them that tremble at the word of the Lord, at the power of the mighty God, which raises up the seed of God, and throws down the earth which hath kept it down. So, you who are in the fall where death reigneth, who are enemies of the truth, despising the power of God, as those of your generation ever did, woe and misery is your portion, except you speedily repent.

“Isaiah saith, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word.’ Again, ‘To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.’ Isa. lxv. 2. ‘Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.’ Isa. lxvi. 5. Now all ye scoffers and scorners, that despise trembling, you regard not the word of the Lord; they are not regarded by you, that tremble at the word; who are regarded by the Lord: therefore you are contrary to Isaiah’s words. Profess him and his words no more, for shame, nor make a trade of his words, ye that seek for your gain from your quarter, ye greedy, dumb dogs, that never have enough; ye are they that despise trembling; ye are such as Isaiah cried against, who himself witnessed trembling. Here therefore be ye witnesses against yourselves, that with the light in your consciences ye may see ye are out of the prophet Isaiah’s spirit, and are haters of them that tremble, whom the Lord regards; such you regard not, but hate and persecute, mock and rail against them. It is manifest that you walk in the steps of your forefathers, that persecuted the prophets.

“Habakkuk, the prophet of the Lord, trembled. And Joel, the prophet of the Lord, said, ‘Blow the trumpet in Zion, and let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble: 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 are arising, and the living are praising God; 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 scarcely pass up and down the streets, but with stones and blows, fists and sticks, or dogs set at them; or they are pursued with mockings 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, who tremble at the word of the Lord, and whom the Lord regards: these you stone and stock, and set your dogs at; these you scoff and scorn, these you revile and reproach; but these reproaches are our riches; praised be the Lord who hath given us power over them. 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 a one in this condition now, ye say, he is bewitched. Here again you show 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, trembled; his strength and his breath were gone; he was imprisoned, he was hated, he was persecuted. They laid baits and snares for him, in whom the Holy Spirit of God was. Now for shame, you that make a profession of Daniel’s words, give over your profession; priests and people, who scorn and scoff 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. Here again be ye witnesses against yourselves, that ye are scorners and scoffers against the truth; and with the Scripture ye 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, to carry his name abroad into several nations, trembled: and when the dark, blind world, having got some of his words and epistles, you teachers make a trade of them, and obtain great sums of money by 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, that ‘he was with them in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling,’ that their faith might not stand in the wisdom of men, 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 aside all your profession of the apostle’s words and conditions! Some of them that scoff at this power, call it the power of the devil. Some persecute, stone and stock, imprison and whip them, in whom that power is made manifest, and load 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 forefathers, who persecuted the apostles, and acted so against them, stocked them, mocked them, imprisoned 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! 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 they who act such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God: all such things are by the light condemned.

“You who have come to witness trembling and quaking, the powers of the earth to be shaken, the lustful nature to be destroyed, the scorning and scoffing nature judged by the light; wait in it 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, the presumptuous, who 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 place in the assemblies, stood praying in the synagogues, and were called of men masters, which Christ cried woe against. These 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 scorners, all you persecutors and railers are seen.

“Take warning, all ye powers of the earth, how ye persecute them whom the world nickname 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; whom you, who are of the world, scoff and scorn, stock, persecute, and imprison. Here ye may see ye are contrary to God and to the prophets; and are such as hate what the Lord regards; which we, whom the world scorns and call Quakers, own. We exalt and honour that power, that makes the devils tremble, shakes the earth, and throws down the loftiness and the haughtiness of man; which makes the beasts of the field to tremble, and the earth to reel to and fro; which cleaves the earth asunder, and overturneth the world. This power we own, and honour, and preach; but all scoffers and persecutors, railers and scorners, stockers and whippers, we deny by that power which throweth down all that nature; seeing that all who act such things, without repentance, shall not inherit the kingdom of God, but are for destruction.

“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. Wait in the light, that you may grow up in the life that gave forth the Scriptures; that with it you may see the saints’ conditions, and all that which they testified against; and there with it ye will see the state of those that reproached and scoffed at them; that mocked and persecuted them; that whipped and stocked them, and haled them out of the synagogues before magistrates. 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 they will do unto you. Here is our joy; 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, 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.”

“All ye churches gathered into outward forms upon the earth, the Son of God is come to reign; he will tread and trample, will shake and make you quiver, you that are found out of his light, without his life and power. His day hath appeared; mortar and clay will you be found. Breaking, shaking, and quaking are 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 novelists, who love novelties, changeable suits of apparel, who are in the fashions, outward and inward, putting on one thing this day, and another the other day. ‘I will strip thee,’ saith the Lord, ‘I will make thee bare, I will 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; never yet got the load of thick clay off you; never were out of the drunken spirit, whose imperfection appears, which must be come upon as a potter’s vessel; broken cisterns; ye that have been made wise in your own conceit, wise in your own eyes, in which pride hath lifted you up, and not the humility; you must be abased. You have run on, every one after his own invention; every man hath done the thing that was right in his own eyes, that which pleased 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 ye 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 husks which the swine feed upon. All ye priests in the nation, and teachers, that now stand against the light, your envy shows that ye are in Cain’s way; your greediness shows that ye are 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 Korah’s way, that spoke the great high words of vanity; ye whose consciences are seared as with a 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 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.

“All ye powers of the earth, beware of holding such up as are unrighteous. Let not the words of the unrighteous overcome you, lest God, the righteous judge of heaven and earth, take hold upon you; whose judgment is according to that of God in you, which will let you see when you transgress. Come you proud and lofty ones, who have not considered the handy-works of the Lord, but have destroyed them; nor have regarded the way of the Lord, but have had plenty of the creatures, and have therewith fattened yourselves, and forgotten the Lord and his way: O let shame cover your faces here upon earth! Come ye that are given to pleasures, and spend your time in sports, and idleness, and fulness; your fruits declare the sins of Sodom; yet you will talk of my name, and of my saints’ words. ‘But I behold you afar off,’ saith the Lord; you are proud and lofty; you are evil patterns, bad examples, full, rich, and idle; who say others are idle, that cannot maintain your lusts. O! the unrighteous balances that are among people! O! the iniquity in measuring! O! the oppression in ruling and governing! Because of these things my hand shall come upon you, saith the Lord. For the oppression is entered into the ears of the Lord, who gives rest to the wearied, to the burthened, to the oppressed; who feeds the hungry, and clothes the naked; who brings the mighty from their seats, beats the lofty to the ground, and makes the haughty bend.

“Come, saith the Lord, ye mockers, scorners, and rebellious ones, light and wild people, vain and heady; you have had your day of joy, you have scoffed, you have mocked and derided my messengers and my ambassadors, who have preached in your streets, and cried in your synagogues and temples; a day of trembling and lamentation shall come upon you, when you are not aware. I will take away your pride and your height; I will shake you as a leaf, and bring you to be as men distracted. I will distract you, and make you that you shall not trust one another in the earth, who have joined hand in hand against my servants in the truth. I will smite you with terrors, and bring fear upon you; the cup of my indignation and fury shall you drink. Where will you appear when repentance is hid from your eyes, when profane Esau, your father, is set before you, and Ishmael and Cain, wild and envious, whose fruits declare the stock?

“Come, ye proud priests, who have eaten up the fat of the nation, who by violence have taken other men’s goods, whose envy hath slain many, whose wickedness and darkness hath abounded, and whose unrighteousness daily appears; your fruits every day declare it, in summoning up by writs and subpœnas from most parts of the nation for wages and tithes, such as you do no work for. O abominable unrighteousness! how is the state of man lost, that they do not take these things to heart to feel them! what havoc is made in most parts of the nation with such! And all ye priests and teachers, who are railing and brawling in the pulpit, setting people at variance one against another, haters and hateful, provoking people to hate one another, here is the seed of enmity seen, which you have sown and are sowing, whose seed must he bruised by the seed of the woman, which above your heads is set.”

“The magistrate is not to bear the sword in vain, who ought to be a terror to evil-doers; but as the magistrate that doth bear the sword in vain, is not a terror to evil-doers, so he is not a praise to them that do well. Now hath God raised up a people by his power, whom people, priests, and magistrates, who are out of the fear of God, scornfully call Quakers, who cry against drunkenness (for drunkards destroy God’s creatures), and against oaths (for because of oaths the land mourns), and these drunkards and swearers, to whom the magistrate’s sword should be a terror, are, we see, at liberty; but for crying against such, many are cast into prison; as also for testifying against their pride and filthiness, their deceitful merchandise in markets, their cozening and their cheating, their excess and naughtiness, their playing at bowls and shuffle boards, at cards and at dice, and their other vain and wanton pleasures. They who live in pleasures are dead while they live; and they who live in wantonness kill the just. This we know by the Spirit of God, which gave forth the Scriptures, which the Father has given to us, and hath placed his righteous law in our hearts; which law is a terror to evil-doers, and answers that which is of God in every man’s conscience. They who act contrary to the measure of God’s Spirit in every man’s conscience, cast the law of God behind their backs, and walk despitefully against the Spirit of grace. The magistrate’s sword, we see, is borne in vain, whilst the evil-doers are at liberty to do evil; and they that cry against such, are for so doing punished by the magistrate, who hath turned his sword backward against the Lord. Now the wicked one fenceth himself, and persecutes the innocent as vagabonds and wanderers, for crying against sin, and against unrighteousness and ungodliness openly, in the markets and in the highways; or as railers, because they tell them what judgment will come upon them that follow such practices. Here they that depart from iniquity are become a prey, and few lay it to heart. But God will thrash the mountains, beat the hills, cleave the rocks, and cast into his press, which is trodden without the city, and will bathe his sword in the blood of the wicked and unrighteous. You that have drunk the cup of abominations, a hard cup have you had to drink; you are the enemies of God, and of you he will be avenged.

“Now ye, in whom something of God is remaining, consider; If the sword was not borne in vain, but turned against the evil-doers, then the righteous would not suffer, and be cast into holes, dungeons, corners, prisons, and houses of correction, as peace-breakers, for testifying against sin openly, as they are commanded of the Lord, and against the covetousness of the priests, and their false worships; who exact money of poor people, whom they do no work for. O! where will you appear in the day of the Lord? or how will you stand in the day of his righteous judgment? How many jails and houses of correction are now made places to put the lambs of Christ in, for following him, and obeying his commands, which are too numerous to mention. The royal law of Christ, ‘to do as ye would be done by,’ is trodden down under foot; so that men can profess him in words, but crucify him wheresoever he appears, and cast him into prison, as the talkers of him always did in the generations and ages past. The labourers, whom God, the master of the harvest, hath sent into his vineyard, do the chief of the priests, and the rulers now take counsel together against, to cast them into prison: and here are the fruits of priests, and people, and rulers, without the fear of God. The day is come and coming, that every man’s work doth appear and shall appear; glory be to the Lord God for ever. So see, and consider the days you have spent, and do spend; for this is your day of visitation. Many have suffered great fines, because they could not swear, but obey Christ’s doctrine, who saith, ‘Swear not at all:’ and are made a prey upon for abiding in the command of Christ. Many are cast into prison because they cannot take the oath of abjuration, though they denied all that is abjured in it; and by that means many of the messengers and ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ are cast into prison because they will not swear, nor go out of Christ’s command.

“Therefore, O man, consider; to the measure of the life of God in thee I speak. Many also lie in jails, because they cannot pay the priest’s tithes; many have their goods spoiled, and treble damages taken of them; and many are whipped and beaten in the house of correction, without breach of any law. These things are done in thy name, in order to protect them in these actions. If men fearing God bore the sword, if covetousness were hated, and men of courage for God were set up, then they would be a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well; and not cause them to suffer. Here equity would be heard in our land, and righteousness would stand up and take place; which giveth not place to the unrighteous, but judgeth it. To the measure of God’s Spirit in thee I speak, that thou mayest consider, and come to rule for God; that thou mayest answer that which is of God in every man’s conscience; for this is that, which bringeth to honour all men in the Lord. Therefore consider for whom thou dost rule, that thou mayest come to receive power from God to rule for him; and all that is contrary to God may by his light be condemned.

“From a lover of thy soul, who desires thy eternal good.”

“Who is moved by the power of the Lord to offer himself to the justice for his brother or sister, that lies in prison, and to go lie there in their stead, that his brother or sister may come out of prison, and so offer his life for his brother or sister? Where any lie in prison for tithes, witnessing the priesthood changed, that took tithes, and the unchangeable priesthood come; if any brother in the light, who witnesseth a change of the old priesthood that took tithes, and a disannulling of the commandment for tithes, be moved of the Lord to go to the priest or impropriator, to offer himself to lie in prison for his brother, and to lay down his life, that he may come forth, he may cheerfully do it, and heap up coals of fire upon the head of the adversary of God. Likewise where any suffer for the truth by them who are in the untruth, if any Friends be moved of the Lord to go to the magistrate, judge, general, or protector, and offer up themselves to lay down their lives for the brethren; as Christ hath laid down his life for you, so lay down your lives one for another. Here you may go over the heads of the persecutors, and reach the witness of God in all. And this shall rest a judgment upon them all for ever, and be witnessed to by that which is of God in their consciences. Given forth from the Spirit of the Lord through

“My Dear Friends,

“In the power of the everlasting God, which comprehends the power of darkness, and all temptation, and that which comes out of it, in this power of God dwell. It will bring and keep you to the Word in the beginning; it will keep you up to the life, to feed thereupon, in which you are over the power of darkness, and in which you will find and feel dominion and life. And that will let you see, before the tempter was, and over him; and into that the tempter cannot come; for the power and truth he is out of. Therefore in that life dwell, in which you will know dominion; and let your faith be in the power, and over the weakness and temptations, and look not at them: but in the light and power of God look at the Lord’s strength, which will be made perfect in your weakest state. In all temptations look at the grace of God to bring your salvation, which is your teacher to teach you: for when you look or hearken to the temptations, you go from your teacher, the grace of God; and so are darkened in going from that teacher, the grace of God, which is sufficient in all temptations, to lead out of them, and to keep over them.”