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<DATE>2008-08-01</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<HEAD>A VVord in due &s;ea&s;on: OR, SOME HARVEST MEDITATIONS WITH A Warning from the Lord God to all People in <HI>ENGLAND,</HI> to leave off their wicked and fooli&s;h Cu&s;toms in their Harve&s;t, before the anger of the Lord be kindled again&s;t them, and there be no Remedy.</HEAD>
<P>_BEhold the Eye of the Lord hath pa&s;&s;ed through the Earth, and hath beholden the abominations of the people, and their cu&s;toms, which are altogether vain, and his hand is lifted up again&s;t them, to cut them off from the Earth, and wo to them that with&s;tand him, for them will the Lord God vi&s;it in his di&s;plea&s;ure, and rebuke in his anger; therefore be war|ned all ye Inhabitants of the Earth, and while ye have time, learn Wi&s;dom, and depart from vanity before ye be con|&s;umed through your gain-&s;aying.</P>
<P>Upon the 29. of the 4th. Month, the Word of the Lord came unto me &s;aying, <HI>Behold, the many abominations of this people in the time of their Harve&s;t, and although my light hath &s;hined to have let them &s;ee them, yet they have rejected the coun&s;el thereof; and al|though my faithful witne&s;s in them hath reproved, yet they have not regarded it; and although I have &s;mitten them with Mildew and with bla&s;ting, yet they have not laid it to heart, but have per&s;i&s;ted in the fooli&s;h cu&s;toms of their forefathers, and have hated to be reformed, neither have they feared me, &s;aith the Lord, but daily do they grieve my holy spirit with their iniquities:</HI></P>
<P><HI>Therefore once more let them be warned of the vanities &amp; abominations of their Harve&s;t in particular, that they may return, and learn to fear before me, le&s;t I &s;mite their fruitful fields with barrenne&s;s, and their goodly crops with withering, and their children with cleanne&s;s of teeth in all their borders, &amp;c.</HI> Am. 4. 6, 9, 10</P>
<P>And now this is that which the Lord God hath put into my heart to warn all ye Husbandmen and Farmers, that in the time of Har|ve&s;t when ye are taking in the fruit and the encrea&s;e of your Fields, and the i&s;&s;ue of your labour, that ye mind the fear of God, that it may keep you in the remembrance of him from whence every good gift cometh, that &s;o it may be good to you, and ye may receive it with humility and thankfulne&s;s; and none to murmure becau&s;e it is no more, nor none to glory becau&s;e it is &s;o much, but all to be contented, and to mind that which lets you &s;ee and feel the ble&s;&s;ing, that ye might be kept in the worthy walking, and know it to be multiplyed unto you, and let your joy be in that the light hath &s;hined upon you, and let that be the joy of your Harve&s;t, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 9. 3.</P>
<P>And remember that the portion of the poor be not gathered, but con&s;ider the Lord hath regarded their need; neither be churli&s;h nor bitter to them, but let them have their portion without dimini&s;hing, <HI>Levit.</HI> 19. 9. <HI>And when thou reape&s;t the harve&s;t of thy land, thou &s;halt not whol|ly reap the corners of thy field,</HI> [mark] <HI>neither &s;halt thou gather the gleannings of thy Harve&s;t, it is for the poor, and for the &s;tranger.</HI> Lay this to heart ye rich men, le&s;t ye eat of the portion of the poor, and the hand of the Lord be turned again&s;t ye through their cry, <HI>Job.</HI> 34. 28. For the Lord will maintain the right of the poor, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 140. 12.</P>
<P>And take heed of inordinate fea&s;ting, &s;pending the Creation upon the lu&s;t, making provi&s;ion for the fle&s;h, which is contrary to the Chri|&s;tians Example; but let your moderation appear in this al&s;o; <HI>For the reward of the glutton &s;hall be poverty, Prov.</HI> 23. 21. And mind the Wit|ne&s;s of God, that that may order and guide you into that which is convenient, and may &s;top the exce&s;s, that what&s;oever is done, may be done to the prai&s;e and glory of God, as becometh Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>And let none be over-covetous of drinking, neither in the time of your labour, nor at any other time; for that hurts the creature, and de&s;troys the health, and hath overcome the life of many, when they have been &s;trengthened by the Lord to labour, then they have hurt them&s;elves with their inordinate drinking, and &s;o abu&s;ing the gift of God, it hath been taken from them; but let all minde God's fear, that ye may feel through that which is outward, to that which is within, namely, the thir&s;t of the &s;oul, which that which is outward will not &s;atisfie; that &s;o ye may be brought to wait to know that manife&s;ted within, which is Drink indeed, <HI>Joh.</HI> 6. 55. which clean&s;eth from the pollutions that is in the world through lu&s;t, and &s;atisfies the &s;oul.</P>
<P>And let that abominable cu&s;tom of &s;houting in the fields, or el&s;ewhere, be left off, which is derived from generation to generation, from the Heathen, and from the Papi&s;ts; and while this be left, leave off calling your &s;elves Chri&s;tians, or Prote&s;tants; for even this thing, name|ly your crying of that which you call your Leargees, is a &s;hame to the very Name of Chri&s;tians to be found among&s;t them, and renders you but fooli&s;h ignorant people, who &s;ports your &s;elves with your own breath, like the Heathen who knows not the Lord that gave it; &s;uch as was the <HI>Moabites,</HI> whom the Lord's anger was kindled again&s;t, until he threatened to cut off the Vintage of <HI>Moab,</HI> and their &s;houting &s;hould no more be heard in their Vineyards, becau&s;e the treaders &s;hould tread out no Wine in their Pre&s;&s;es, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 16. 9, 10. And &s;o will the Lord do by you except ye repent and turn from the folly of your ways; for he is not changed, neither is there re&s;pect of per&s;ons with him; therefore let this be no more named among&s;t you who call your &s;elves Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>And let all your corrupt and vain Harve&s;t-Songs be left off, your Night-work, which lifts up the evil &s;pirit in man, but oppre&s;&s;eth the ju&s;t, and keepeth from the true joy in the pure &s;pirit, where the Song of Prai&s;es is &s;ung unto God for all his benefits, with acceptance; for in this al&s;o is there great abomination committed in the Land, and the Lord's Spirit hath been grieved therewith; &s;ometime ye are &s;pending your precious time (which &s;hould be for the re&s;ting of the creature in) &s;inging of filthy and abominable Songs, tending to the &s;ubverting and removing of mode&s;ty and cha&s;tity from off the face of the Earth; and it may be the &s;ame night, and in the &s;ame mind will ye take &s;ome of the words of the holy Scripture, it may be of <HI>David</HI>'s P&s;alms, or &s;ome other of the P&s;alms, and then in your wicked manner of doubling, and vain repetitions, will &s;ing them, which is far from &s;inging to the prai&s;e and glory of God, or with Grace in your hearts, but to the great abu&s;e of the Scripture, and to the di&s;honor of the Name of the Lord; and be a&s;&s;ured you &s;hall not be hol|den guiltle&s;s that take God's Name in vain, although in the time of your Harve&s;t; but your Songs &s;hall be turned as the howling of <HI>Moab</HI> in the day when the Lord vi&s;ited him.</P>
<P>But all mind the light of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t within, that ye may know it lifted up upon you, which makes glad the hearts of the righteous, yea more glad then the joy of the ungodly when their Corn and Wine is encrea&s;ed, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 4. 6, 7.</P>
<P>And let that wicked and abominable Cu&s;tom of making Lords and Ladyes among&s;t you in the Harve&s;t-Field, be left off for ever, which is a &s;hame to your profe&s;&s;ion, and renders you to be like the Gentiles, who had Lords many among&s;t them, but knew not the Chri&s;tians one Lord; this ought not to be any more mentioned, but ought to be denyed as a fooli&s;h and unchri&s;tian cu&s;tom, tending to nothing but to exalt the pride of mans heart, and begetting into emulation and &s;trife; this al&s;o is vanity and vexation of &s;pirit.</P>
<P>And let none of you who are &s;trong, boa&s;t and glory in your &s;trength over him that is weaker, nor &s;eek to hurt him by thy &s;trength, but mind the Lord your Maker, and remember your ability to be of him, and not your own, and &s;o to be u&s;ed in his fear, without vain glory.</P>
<P>And all you that have much of the Earth in your hands, and many hired &s;ervants, &s;ee that ye &s;tand in the Power and Wi&s;dom of God, ruling over that part in them all, that would lead into rudene&s;s and prophanene&s;s, being good examples in your places, and giving them that which is due for their encouragement, not oppre&s;&s;ing them in Work nor in Wages; but all mind the truth of God, the equal wit|ne&s;s between you, which &s;ecretly calls for righteou&s;ne&s;s towards all men, and Equity as ye would have from all men, that &s;o the Lord may make your Land as a fruitful Field, and may multiply a ble&s;&s;ing upon you, both within and without.</P>
<P>Thus have I cleared my con&s;cience in the &s;ight of God, and have &s;ingly given my Te&s;timony again&s;t the&s;e abominations which have been acted in this Nation in Harve&s;t time, in love to your &s;ouls, and in obedience to the Lord; and whether ye will hear or forbear, ye &s;hall know that ye were warned by a Friend to your &s;ouls, and a Lover of the Truth, which was before the cu&s;toms of the Heathens were (and therefore plead not Antiquity in the&s;e things) and one that de&s;ires this Nation might walk in the light of the Lord, and be &s;aved from the reproach of the Heathen; who&s;e outward Name is</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Stephen Cri&s;p.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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