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<DATE>2009-01-21</DATE>
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<NAME>Emma Leeson Huber</NAME>
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<STC T="T">669.f.26[34]</STC>
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<VID>163916</VID>
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<HEAD>To both Hou&s;es of PARLIAMENT.</HEAD>
<P>THat there is a weighty Tru&s;t repo&s;ed in you, 'tis no ambi|tion in me to tell you; for verily the righteous God re|quires the performance of it from you; the right di&s;|charging whereof is of great concernment (and the hearty de&s;ire of him that &s;ends this) to you. Never had this Nation &s;ince &s;he had the Name of <HI>England,</HI> more need of wi&s;e Senators, then at this &s;ea&s;on; for <HI>England</HI> hath &s;inned pre|&s;umptuou&s;ly again&s;t her God, his mercies to her have been of a won|derful magnitude: What people under the Sun hath he dealt &s;o boun|tifully with? Or is there any Nation under Heaven hath had &s;o liberal a portion of the ble&s;&s;ings of his right hand, and of his left? Hath &s;he not been counted the Mirrour of all Nations? Hath not the &s;ound of her Inhabitants gone thorough the earth? Have not the Neighbour Nations round about her, bended to her? Hath &s;he not been a help in needful times unto her friends, and a dread and terror to her enemies? But how hath <HI>England</HI> requited the Lord? Hath &s;he rightly an&s;wered his Love, and walked in his Light? Or hath &s;he not ca&s;t the Te&s;timony of his Law behind her? The unparallel'd Mercies of her God are un|dervalued and forgotten by her; therefore is he drawing near in judge|ment again&s;t her; for the &s;ins of <HI>Sodom</HI> are found to be within her, and the Cry of Blood pur&s;ues her. Time after time hath the righteous God &s;ent his Warnings to her, but hitherto they have been little regarded by her: Ah! how long hath &s;he grieved her righteous God, and her iniquities been a burthen to his people! And to add to her unworthi|ne&s;s, and multiply her Mi&s;ery, &s;he hath abu&s;ed God's Me&s;&s;engers: How many of his Prophets hath &s;he impri&s;oned? And which of her Gaols have not been v<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ited, by her impri&s;oning the &s;ons of Innocency? Not for any guile that hath been found in their lips, but onely for witne&s;&s;ing again&s;t her iniquity and unworthine&s;s. And &s;hall not the righteous God vi&s;it for the&s;e things? Will he not be avenged on &s;uch a people? Certainly 'tis time for her to be clothed in Sackcloth, and happy were it for her, would &s;he fa&s;t from iniquity. O that I might &s;ee her Princes &s;et in the Hou&s;e of Mourning, and her Nobles weeping in the du&s;t. But <HI>England</HI> is &s;ick, and &s;ees it not; &s;he is near the Grave, and not &s;en&s;ible of it: Therefore is her Condition more de&s;perate, and her Malady the more incurable. O <HI>England! England!</HI> my Native Countrey, Calamity is coming very &s;wiftly upon thee, yet neither thy Princes, Peers, nor Prelates (&s;o called) &s;eek to comfort thee, nor mini&s;ter any Cordial, or the Balm of Gilead to recover thee. O cea&s;e from thy Iniquity, and ki&s;s the Rod that &s;mites thee, el&s;e verily I &s;ee thou runs on to thy ruin, and in thy madne&s;s rides po&s;t to Perdition.</P>
<P>Ah friends! Is this a time to fall out with your fellow-&s;ervants? Hath not <HI>England</HI> Enemies enow abroad to invade and over-run her, but you mu&s;t needs imbrue your hands in the blood of your native Countrey|men? Do not your Enemies laugh at your folly? And will they not be ready to rejoyce at your ruine? There is an opportunity put into your hands, and the God of <HI>Englands</HI> Mercies without doubt hath done it: Do you not &s;ee the undermining &s;ubtilty of your Enemies? If this blou|dy Spirit be not timely rebuked, <HI>Rome</HI> will &s;oon triumph in <HI>Englands</HI> Ruines. Verily I mu&s;t deale plainly with you herein; for my life is not dear unto me, to do <HI>England</HI> good.</P>
<P>O Parliament of <HI>England,</HI> as yet thou ha&s;t Power, and know that <HI>En|gland</HI>'s God hath given it unto thee: Be a bridle to that bloody Spirit, and cru&s;h the Cockatrice in the &s;hell; for if thou &s;uffer this Je&s;uitical De&s;ign to have its &s;wing, it will neither leave thee root nor branch: Therefore (my Friends) &s;eek peace, and pur&s;ue it, and be no longer lea|vened with <HI>Ammon</HI> and <HI>Amaleck.</HI></P>
<P>But let your minds be &s;taid upon the Principle of God which he hath placed in your con&s;ciences: Be &s;till (I &s;ay) in your minds, and come in|to calmne&s;s; let the loftine&s;s of man be laid low, and wait in filence up|on the living God; li&s;ten and encline your ear unto his &s;till voice, that is it which moves to holine&s;s, mercy, and moderation. The Spirit of the Lord leads to patience, and coun&s;els his people to forgive their enemies. The righteous Seed &s;eeks not for revenge, it cannot endure to have its Garment &s;tain'd with blood, and yet it's a Principle that pleads for true obedience to Rulers; but would not have the King drink the blood of the people. The Golden Mean, I mu&s;t tell you, is the be&s;t; and when you &s;it in Judgement, &s;ee that you remember Mercy; and I warn you in the fear of God, be tender of the life of man.</P>
<P>And as for Religion, this the righteous God requires of you: Seek not to bind the Con&s;ciences of any who&s;e hearts are truly &s;et towards <HI>Sion,</HI> nor con&s;ent not to e&s;tabli&s;h any form by an outward force, but give free Toleration in the exerci&s;e of a tender Con&s;cience. Be as zealous as you can in the re&s;training of Vice and Vanity in your own particu|lars, and in the Nation. Let your Laws be a terror to evil-doers, but let the righteous find you favourers of God's people. And take heed of <HI>Amaleck,</HI> that Prelatical con&s;cience-binding Spirit, which &s;ubtilly pre&s;|&s;es you to an outward conformity; for <HI>Amaleck's</HI> de&s;ign is to preach up Per&s;ecution.</P>
<P>You may take notice of the preceding Powers that have been &s;plit upon this Rock: How many Overturnings have you known of late? And did any per&s;ecuting plot of late ever pro&s;per? And do You think to make war again&s;t the Lamb, and to meet with Victory? If you find it &s;o&punc; then &s;ay there is no God in <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> It is in vain for man to &s;trive again&s;t his Maker; for the Lord God Omnipotent is leading and will bring his &s;eed out of the hou&s;e of bondage, and if <HI>Pharaoh</HI> &s;hall refu&s;e to let <HI>I&s;rael</HI> go free, God will multiply his plagues upon him, and drown him and his Ho&s;t in the red Sea: Read who can. Wherefore, O Friends, be per&s;waded to moderation, and let not the innocent be the object of your wrath, becau&s;e in feigned humility they come not to you, nor with the windy words of man's hollow wi&s;dome they cannot feed you. Plain down-right dealing is a Jewel; and the righteous feel more true joy in the wearing of it, then the <HI>Egyptians</HI> do in all their Jewels.</P>
<P>And as for us (whom the &s;cornful generation do call <HI>Quakers)</HI> were we of the World, the World would love Us, for the World loves its own; but we are not of the World, therefore the World hates Us; but we know it hated Chri&s;t before us: And this we know al&s;o, our Adver|&s;aries cannot lay their yoak upon us, till the Lord &s;uffer them, nor can they go beyond their limit, and the wrath of man &s;hall be re&s;trained: God may &s;uffer them to try us, but they &s;hall not de&s;troy us. Therefore do not You re&s;olve within your &s;elves that you will &s;uppre&s;s the righte|ous &s;eed in the people called <HI>Quakers.</HI> For know this a&s;&s;uredly, That Spirit which goes about it, mu&s;t bow unto it, and fall before it; for they are of the &s;eed of the <HI>Jews;</HI> read me within: <HI>Sion</HI> mu&s;t be a burthen&s;om &s;tone unto her enemies; God is, and will be tender of his Seed, and all that fall upon it, &s;hall be broken by it.</P>
<P>Alas poor Mortals! think you to limit that which is Eternal? You may as well command the fire from burning, the wind from blowing, the &s;un from &s;hining, the rain from &s;howering, and the gra&s;s from &s;pring|ing up or growing, as offer to attempt it. If you can &s;pan the circumfe|rence of the Earth, and dry up the va&s;t Ocean with your breath; if you can turn the <HI>Autumn</HI> into <HI>Spring,</HI> or count the number of the Stars, and reckon every &s;and upon the &s;ea &s;hore; then may you limit the holy One, and drown his I&s;rael in the &s;ea.</P>
<P>But who is &s;ufficient for the&s;e things? Therefore, O Friends, come into the Humility, and be no longer high minded, but learn the holy fear, and bow to God's Witne&s;s in every one of your con&s;ciences, and an&s;wer the requirings of it, by your obedience to it; while the Light of God is &s;hining in you, <HI>it is day;</HI> his &s;pirit &s;hall not alwayes &s;trive with fle&s;h; work while the light is with you; the night comes when no man can work; wherefore prize your time, &amp; repent, and believe and walk in the Light, lea&s;t for your di&s;obedience the Lord God omnipotent overturn your Mountain, and bring his Wheel over you; and then what are you?</P>
<P>And as for us, our Hope and Help is in <HI>I&s;rael's</HI> God, and we fear not man, nor what man can do unto us, we are well known to be a harmle&s;s people, and have learnt to pray for them that per&s;ecute us, and de&s;ire to live peaceably with all men. Therefore be not prejudiced in your minds towards us&punc; nor go about to make Laws again&s;t us, becau&s;e we de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> plainly with you; for of a certain, God is with Us.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Martin Ma&s;on.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>Lincoln, <DATE>the &s;econd day of the <HI>9th.</HI> Month, 1660.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P>LONDON, printed for <HI>Robert Wil&s;on,</HI> at the <HI>Black-&s;pread-Eagle</HI> and <HI>Wind-mill,</HI> in <HI>Martins l' Grand,</HI> 1660.</P>
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