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<DATE>2007-06-05</DATE>
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<NAME>Angela Berkley</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A WOE AGAINST THE <HI>Magi&s;trates, Prie&s;ts, and People</HI> OF KENDALL in the County of <HI>We&s;tmerland,</HI> Pronounced from the Lord by one of his PROPHETS.</P>
<P>Which may warn all the per&s;ecuting Cities and Towns in the North, and every where, to Repent and fear the Lord, le&s;t the Decree go forth again&s;t them.</P>
<P>Al&s;o the Stumbling-block removed from weak Mindes, who are offended at the &s;trange Signs and wonders acted by the Servants of the Lord, &s;cornfully called QUAKERS In the Northern parts of this Nation.</P>
<P>LONDON, Printed in the Year, 1654.</P>
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="commentary">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>The word of the Lord came unto me &s;aying, Write and declare a|gain&s;t that bloody Town of <HI>Kendall,</HI> and leave it without excu&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>HEar ye which pretend to be Rulers, and ye that pretend to be Teachers, and ye people, the trum|pet of the Lord is &s;ounded, gather your &s;elves together, for I will plead with you, your iniqui|ties are come up before me, and your Tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion is come into mine ears; Wo, wo, and mi&s;ery is coming up|on you, you &s;hall be as <HI>Sodome</HI> and <HI>Gomorrah,</HI> and as <HI>Admah</HI> and <HI>Zeboim;</HI> De&s;olation and a crie, a crie, lamentation, howling, bit|terne&s;&s;e and &s;orrow &s;hal come upon you at unawares, the &s;word of the Lord is drawn again&s;t you, it is &s;harpned for a great &s;langhter, and you &s;hall be cut off, becau&s;e you have de&s;pi&s;ed my name, and troden under foot my precepts, and walk after your own wils, and the imagination of your own hearts; and yet &s;aith the Lord, they &s;ay I am among&s;t them: Wo unto you hypocrites, I am weary of you, and of all your profe&s;&s;ion it &s;tinks in my No&s;trils, and I abhor it as much as if ye &s;lew a man; you have &s;lain my Son, you have mocked my Prophets, and de|&s;pi&s;ed my Me&s;&s;engers which I have &s;ent early and late to fore|warn you of the evill to come, have not I wrought &s;ignes and wonders among&s;t you, as ever was in any day, or from the be|ginning, have not I made the Mountains tumble down in your &s;ight, have not I cau&s;ed my Judgments to fall upon them that have &s;et them&s;elves again&s;t me? have not I clean&s;ed the Lepers? have not I quickned and rai&s;ed them out of the grave, which were dead in Sins and tre&s;pa&s;&s;es? have not I brought down the proud? have not I exalted the low? have not I cau&s;ed the weak things to confound the wi&s;e? have not I &s;ent &s;igns among you, and have &s;ent my &s;ervants to declare again&s;t you, as I did to <HI>Nineveh,</HI> and have you not heard it? have not I commanded my Servants to go bare and naked in your &s;ight, to be a &s;ign to you that your covering is now rent, and your garment is to bee torn, and you &s;hall be left naked and bare, and you &s;hall be made a mock and a proverb to all, as my Servants have bin made a mock and a proverb to you; and I will &s;catter you in my in|dignation, and I will cau&s;e my fury to re&s;t upon you till I have
<PB N="2" REF="3">
con&s;umed you; Ye Rulers that rule by your own wills, and ye fal&s;e Prophets that cry peace to this people, and all ye Peo|ple that delight in lies, is not all manner of wickedne&s;s com|mitted among&s;t you? As Pride, Covetou&s;ne&s;s, Oppre&s;&s;ion, Per&s;ecution, Mocking, Stoning, and Impri&s;oning, haling be|fore Magi&s;trates them who are made to do my will, and to de|clare again&s;t you; Ye &s;trive again&s;t me, &s;aith the Lord, ye cry a Confederacy, ye con&s;ult together, ye plot, ye call all your In|chanters again&s;t me; thus &s;aith the Lord, ye &s;hall be broken as <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and go down to the pit with <HI>Aegypt, Me&s;heck</HI> and <HI>Tuball,</HI> and all the uncircumci&s;ed; Wo is me, the &s;poiler is come up again&s;t you, and blackne&s;s covers you, and a con&s;umption is entring into your bones, my eie &s;hall not &s;pare, my hand &s;hal not pitty, but it will bring this upon you, howle and lament ye Okes, ye Mountains cleave a&s;under, and all ye people, both great and &s;mall, be a&s;toni&s;hed, put on &s;ackcloth, put your mouths in the du&s;t, for I will make my fury to pa&s;s over you, and none &s;hall be able to deliver you, &s;aid the Lord; write this, let them know, but they will not hear, till I have cau&s;ed my fire to burn them up and there be no remedy.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Written from the Spirit of the living God,</DATELINE> <SIGNED>by me who am a wit|a Witne&s;s for his name, whom the world knows not, but named by the world,
Franc. Howgill.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<P>Oh ye raging Prie&s;ts, who have &s;et your &s;elves again&s;t the mighty power of the Lord in his own, whereby he is manife&s;ting his works, his &s;trange works&punc; his acts, his &s;trange acts, making his &s;ervants &s;ignes and wonders among&s;t the heathen, and them that know not God, nor his power, whereby he is choo&s;ing that which &s;eems fooli&s;hne&s;s, to confound the wi&s;dom of the wi&s;e, which you who &s;tand in your own wils and wi&s;dom, know no|thing of; but in this, as in other things, out of your envie a|gain&s;t the truth, take occa&s;ion to lay &s;tumbling-blocks in the way of others, wherein you plainly aypear to be in that genera|tion, who will neither enter into the kingdom your &s;elves, nor would &s;uffer others; you who take occa&s;ion to Preach and Print again&s;t the truth, becau&s;e the Lord hath cau&s;ed &s;ome of his &s;ervants to go naked along your &s;treets, as in <HI>Kendal</HI> and <HI>Kirkby-&s;tephen,</HI> as &s;ignes of his wrath to come upon that pride and fulne&s;s that Prie&s;ts and people live in; and this, you who
<PB N="3" REF="3">
never knew what it was to obey God, contrary to your own rea|&s;on and wils, (for who act &s;uch things, act contrary to their own wils) cry out on a delu&s;ion and madne&s;s, thinking thereby to make the truth odious to others, but it is that the Scriptures may be fulfilled upon you, as it hath been on your generation before you, who counted always what the Prophets, Chri&s;t, and the Apo&s;tles did madne&s;s, and called them mad-fellows; but now all you who fear the Lord, and believe his Word, take heed of the deceit of the&s;e men, and mind not what they &s;ay, who have &s;et them&s;elves to &s;peak evill of the things they know not, but &s;earch the Scriptures and there you &s;hall finde, that the mighty God (who hath power over all fle&s;h, and what he com|mandeth none mu&s;t di&s;pute by their Rea&s;on (though it &s;eem never &s;o fooli&s;h, and again&s;t their wills) but mu&s;t obey) hath always before his great Judgments which he has about to bring on a people, or Nation, made &s;ome of his deare&s;t Servants to pa&s;s and act as &s;ignes to &s;uch Nations of what was to follow, and was &s;o u&s;ual among the Prophets, and them who knew the word of the Lord, that the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;peaking in the name of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;aith, I and the Children whom thou ha&s;t given me, are for Signes and Wonders in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> from the Lord of Ho&s;ts that dwelleth in <HI>Zion, I&s;aiah</HI> 8. 18. And if ye &s;earch the Scriptures of the Prophets, you &s;hall &s;ee in what &s;trange and fooli&s;h things to the wi&s;dome of the world they were acted in, as in <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 20. the Prophet was to go Three years naked for a &s;ign, what the Lord would bring upon <HI>Aethiopia</HI> and <HI>Aegipt:</HI> Now had the&s;e men lived in his dayes, they would have cryed that up as a delu&s;ion and madne&s;s, and not as the Word of the Lord, as they do at this day; for they neither know the Lord, nor his Word who &s;tand in their own wills: Al&s;o read the 4. of <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> and &s;ee what a &s;ign he was to both the hou&s;es of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> and <HI>Judah,</HI> a &s;trange thing to the wi&s;dom as ever was: al&s;o read the 5. of <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> and &s;ee what a &s;ign he was to be, and what folly he was to act as to their wi&s;dome, and that in the mid&s;t of the City: al&s;o <HI>Ezek.</HI> 12. 18, 19. &amp; 24. 16. to the end of the chap. likewi&s;e <HI>Ezek,</HI> 12. to 17. <HI>v.</HI> and many other of the dear Servants of God, who were not only to declare the Word of the Lord from his mouth, but al&s;o to be &s;igns to them to whom he was to prophecy, that &s;o he might leave them all without excu&s;e.</P>
<P><PB N="4" REF="4">
Now tho&s;e who then were Prie&s;ts, and &s;hould have bin teachers and leaders of the people to fear God, and hear his Word, and ob&s;erv his &s;igns, and repent that the Judgments might be preven|ted, they were the only men that hated, reproached, per&s;ecuted, and called the prophets, Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles madmen, decei|vers, becau&s; of the&s;e things, which into their wi&s;domes could not enter, and &s;tirred up the Rulers and ignorant people again&s;t them&punc; that they might put them to death as it is at this day, but the&s;e in our dayes are more inexcu&s;able then all that ever went before them, ina&s;much as they had no Scripture to &s;hew them that the Lord had commanded &s;uch &s;ignes formerly; but the&s;e have the Scriptures that witne&s;&s;e to the &s;ame thing; which &s;crip|tures they make a trade on, and cry up in words, but are igno|rant of that Spirit by which they were acted that gave them forth, and envie and per&s;ecute that obedience that was acted in them, in whom it is now acted; and they might as well cry out again&s;t <HI>E&s;ay</HI> for a mad-man, becau&s;e he went naked at the word of the Lord, and the re&s;t of the prophets and &s;ervants of God for acting &s;uch weak and fooli&s;h things, to their wi&s;dom, as they did as again&s;t the&s;e for obeying the Lord in the &s;ame or the like things what&s;oever, for God is not tied to any rule to walk by, but his own will; and where he commands wo to him that doth not obey, and where he commands not, woe to him that acts in his own will, and &s;aith, it is the Word of the Lord. Wherefore all ye that fear the Lord, take heed of being &s;tirred np by the&s;e men to &s;peak evil of that you know not, but con&s;ider that the prie&s;ts have been alwaies the move<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters"> and per&s;waders of the peo|ple again&s;t Chri&s;t and his Kingdom, and power in his &s;aints, and in&s;tead of being forward to &s;peak evil of the things you know not, turn in your minds into the fear of God, and mind the light in your con&s;cience that will let you &s;ee what &s;ins you are guilty of, which the&s;e &s;igns are threatnings to, that you may repent of them, and e&s;cape the Judgment and finde mercy, as they did in the time of the prophets, who feared the Lord and e&s;caped the Judgment; but the envious, &s;corners and fools pa&s;&s;ed on, and were puni&s;hed and know this, that a wi&s;emans eye is in his head and &s;uch an one hath his guide within him&s;elf, and will not be ha&s;tie to follow others though they be multitudes to do evil, and &s;uch know it is better to be &s;ilent, then to &s;peak evil of the things
<PB N="5" REF="4">
they know not, and when was there ever any truth of God brought forth, but it alwayes &s;uffered the violence of the proud and haughty, where the &s;eed of the &s;erpent reigns and &s;hews his enmity; and it is the &s;ame now, for that which hath been is at this day, but it is that the power of the Lord may be &s;een, in car|rying on his &s;imple truth, again&s;t all the Wi&s;dom and Power of of the World, and plotting of the Serpent, yea and he will carry it on to his prai&s;e, and to the confounding all his Enemies, who mu&s;t &s;tumble at the &s;tumbling &s;tone, and be offended at the Rock, that mu&s;t break them to pieces, wherefore be &s;ilent all fle&s;h before the Lord, who&s;e fooli&s;hne&s;s is more then thy Wi&s;|dom, and who&s;e weakne&s;s is more then the &s;trength of all the World, who is a defence to his poor de&s;pi&s;ed ones, in the mid&s;t of their enemies. Eternal prai&s;es to thee who art our Wi&s;dom for ever.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<OPENER>To all you who have Eyes and yet are blind, and who have Ears and yet are deaf, and have Hearts and yet cannot under&s;tand; To you I am moved to declare.</OPENER>
<P>THe Lord is proclaiming him&s;elf to be King, and all the Mountains and every I&s;le and every Oke of <HI>Ba&s;han,</HI> and all the Cedars of <HI>Lebanon,</HI> and all who rule as Kings and Con|querors &s;hall bow: Hear ye deaf, the Trumpet is blown, the Standard is lifted up, there is open War proclaimed between <HI>Michael</HI> our Paince and all the Inhabitants of the Earth. Arm your &s;elves, O ye Mountains and gather your &s;elves on he<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ps O ye I&s;les, the glittering the Sword of the Lord is drawn, and a fire is before him, and all ye will be found as &s;tubble, and you are all to be &s;lain heaps upon heaps, and are all to go down with all the uncircumci&s;ed Rulers and people into the Pit; the Lord the mighty Jehovah is revealing him&s;elf from heaven in flames of fire to render vengeance upon all the workers Iniquity; for you have &s;lain the heir of the Vineyard, you are killing his Pro|phets, and impri&s;oning his Saints; to you all Profe&s;&s;ors, Rulers, and Prie&s;ts, which &s;ay you are Jews, and are not, but are the Sy|nagogue of Satan; I &s;peak in plaine&s;s of Speech unto you all who live in all the abominations of the heathen, and yet &s;ay you love Chri&s;t, do not you call the Ma&s;ter of the hou&s;e now <HI>Bel|zebub,</HI> do not ye mock, and &s;et your mouths awry ye &s;ons of the Adultre&s;s, and of <HI>Sodom,</HI> at the light of Chri&s;t which enlighteneth
<PB N="6" REF="5">
every one that comes into the world, which light did lead all Saints into purity, and up to God, and this you call Natural, and them who witne&s;s redemption by the Son, you call bla&s;phemers; Chri&s;t which you profe&s;s and yet know not, was accounted by your generation a bla&s;phemer, and all the Apo&s;tles and Saints were per&s;ecuted by your generation as evil doers, as de&s;pi&s;ers of Government, as di&s;turbers of the peace, as leaders of the people into iniquity, as the off-&s;couring of all things, as &s;heep for the &s;laughter, and were al of them put to death and in pri&s;on by that generation which profe&s;&s;ed God, and &s;aid they had his ordinan|ces, yet &s;lew them who profe&s;&s;ed him and kept his &s;tatutes; for if ye be not wilfully blind, are ye not doing the &s;ame now; mock|ing, haling, impri&s;oning, bringing before Magi&s;trates them that witne&s;s Je&s;us Chri&s;t in them, and becau&s; they bear witne&s;s again&s;t all &s;in; Did ever any of the Saints of God per&s;ecute, impri&s;on, or hale before Magi&s;trates, and fal&s;ly acu&s;e any? Did ever the &s;aints complain to Authority to guard them? Hear ye whited tombs, ye painted &s;epulchres, what Go&s;pel is this ye profe&s;s? what God is this ye &s;erv that mu&s;t be defended with clubs, &s;words, Rulers, and carnal weapons; the Saints who had the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel, &s;aid, their weapons were not carnal but &s;piritual, and yet they were mighty through God to beat down &s;trong holds, even principa|lities and powers, thrones and dominions; but your Go&s;pell and Mini&s;try can do nothing without a &s;word; All people &s;ee where you are, &amp; what you are doing, you run headlong to ruine; tho&s;e who were de&s;pi&s;ed by that generation of Phari&s;ees &amp; Profe&s;&s;ors which you are in, were a burthen&s;om &s;tone, upon which all that oppo&s;ed did break them&s;elves; &s;o this generation whom ye &s;et at nought, ye &s;halbe made to bow and throw down your Crowns before them, and before the Lamb who is our Leader &amp; guider, Glory unto him for evermore; its hard for you to kick again&s;t the pricks, for we witne&s;s the two edged Sword of the Lord &s;hall bathe it &s;elf in the blood of his Enemies, and &s;halbe made fat with &s;laughter. O ye Mountains ye &s;hall become a plain for the ran&s;omed to come over you; all your pro|fe&s;&s;ion &s;hall be as &s;tubble, and you &s;hall be left naked and bare, and nothing &s;hall be able to cover you, becau&s;e you are crucifiers of Chri&s;t and the Saints, repent that you may be hid in the day of his fierce anger, which is to come upon all the workers of iniquity.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>F. H.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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