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<DATE>2011-01-25</DATE>
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<NAME>Megan Marion</NAME>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">13192454</BIBNO>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>A WREN IN THE Burning-Bu&s;h, Waving the Wings of CONTRACTION,</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">To the Congregated clean Fowls of the Heavens, in the Ark of God, holy Ho&s;t of the Eternal Power, <HI>SAL&V;TATION.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_THE <HI>Bird</HI> which &s;ate mute under the &s;hadows in the <HI>De&s;art,</HI> mo&s;t melodiou&s;ly is become a chir|ping, chanting Song of Harmony in the Woods of the Pomgranate-Trees, who&s;e Boughs hang &s;even-fold laden with increa&s;e in the &s;eventh year, wherein there is neither reaping nor ga|thering, but all is offered in fulne&s;s to the Lord God of the whole earth.</P>
<Q><L>She makes the Woods to ring with her harmonious &s;ound,</L>
<L>She doth in Valleys &s;ing, and Ecchoes &s;weet rebound.</L></Q>
<P>Her Wings are as <HI>Orions</HI> beams, and her golden Feathers as the Rayes of the <HI>Pleiades;</HI> her Hight is as the cour&s;e of the Sun,
<PB N="2" REF="2">
which from the Heavens giveth light to the whole earth; &s;he lifts up her head at the <HI>Horizon</HI> of the Ea&s;t, and her breathings have reached the &s;hutting deeps of the We&s;t; <HI>Shiloes</HI> Brooks run equal with her foot-&s;teps, her path is in the green Valleys. Who hath born up her Train in the way, and is not an Angel of God? Her young are the Snow-white <HI>Turtle-doves,</HI> per|fect, without party-colour, they yoke but to one peculiar <HI>Mate,</HI> and in the life of love do lye down in his Brea&s;t, bu|ried at the la&s;t ga&s;pe.</P>
<P>Ah my Soul! Where do&s;t thou dwell? Yea, Where is the Bed of thy repo&s;es? Kindled &s;pices are a fervour about me, invironed with their Fames and Flames; Wherefore I &s;tep and bow the head, and proceeding do bend the knee, and in the nigh approach am fallen flat on the ground before the Altar of the Holie&s;t of Holie&s;t; for the glory of God is too wonderful for my view, who rideth upon the wings of Che|rubims.</P>
<P>Oh! Eternal, touch my tongue, that my voice may &s;ound thy prai&s;e, that the Fea&s;t of thy Sons, and the Banquets of thy Daughters may be mingled with the melody of my mouth; thou ha&s;t &s;trained my Strings with the twi&s;ts of Tryal, and woond up my Keyes to the Highe&s;t; Wherefore in&s;truct my hand to quaver upon the <HI>Vial,</HI> that thy <HI>Virgins</HI> may dance at the Tune; thy &s;trength hath &s;queezed my Vine-pre&s;s, let thy &s;trong men ta&s;te of my Cup, for the Wine is as liquor of Life; Ah! my God, Thou ha&s;t filled me with the heavenly good, I will ponder thy Power and prai&s;e thy Name, for thou ha&s;t covered mine innocency with the immen&s;ity of the deeps of mercy; it is thou, Oh Lord God, who art my onely &s;ure hope and &s;trength of Salvation.</P>
<P>Remembring the Ho&s;t, remembring the Angels, having thoughts of the Saints of God, and calling to mind the Lambs of the Flock, my life is as the fume of burning incen&s;e, a&s;cending from the glowing Coals; for the voice of the <HI>Turtle</HI> hath exa&s;perated my Spirit, whereby my life is as an Hymn in the amiablene&s;s of my Loves Brea&s;t; How &s;hall I break o|pen deeps to Remon&s;trate my Love? The profundity of that Love which floweth in the Sea of &s;implicity, and a&s;cendeth in
<PB N="3" REF="2" MS="y">
flight with the Wings of enamouredne&s;s, to the heavenly Ho&s;t of the Mo&s;t Pure God, whom his own right hand hath plan|ted in the Power of the Coele&s;tial Grace of Election, and therein are to him Prie&s;ts, Prophets and Kings, inhabiting the holy Mountain, which hath its &s;cituation on the top of all Mountains, and in the &s;ame do &s;it on Thrones in the regal and imperious Power over all the twelve Provinces of the old Earth and old Heavens, which you have found as di&s;&s;olving Snow, under the trampling of your burning and fla|ming feet, which God hath made (to his own Glory) the foundation of the Pillars of the new Heavens, and firm &s;up|port of the new Earth al&s;o. Oh! how gloriou&s;ly beautiful are your feet which bring the glad Tidings of the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel of perpetual Peace.</P>
<P>Oh! oh! my Beloved, my Beloved, to explicate a little, I may make entrance with the Wi&s;dom of <HI>Solomon,</HI> yea, and af|ter, having exceeded his Phra&s;es, yet the va&s;tne&s;s of my Love to remain the &s;ame, which I never found Arts mo&s;t ex|celling Stage of Narration, &s;ufficient to fathom out unto you.</P>
<P>That wi&s;e man wrote of the three earthly powers, <HI>Armies, Wine</HI> and <HI>Women,</HI> and concluded Women to be the forceable&s;t; Have not all the&s;e in my <HI>Pilgrimage</HI> battled with me? Yea, although the lea&s;t indeed within me, yet even as face to face with me in &s;uch mea&s;ure as to Remon&s;trate would fill up many long lines, with the like Characters as the&s;e of Ink; Never|thele&s;s, <HI>All,</HI> yea and &s;even times more then all the&s;e in full force coming as floods of impre&s;s upon my little City Walls, never did equal nor parallel the &s;trength, vigour and vertue which is in the lea&s;t Lamb of the Sheep-fold.</P>
<P>Moreover I declare, though the &s;aid three might yet at|tempt my Tower (to wit) an Army, as the force of &s;even Ar|mies; and Wine with &s;eventy times &s;even, the &s;trength of the &s;tronge&s;t Wine; and Women, with &s;eventy times &s;even hundred times their &s;trength in the excellency of beauty, lu|&s;tre and love, yet I am per&s;waded in the pure fear, dread and power of God Almighty, that they all would not touch my life, or make me defile the bed of my Marriage; But I te&s;ti|fie,
<PB N="4" REF="3">
the thoughts of the countenance of one <HI>Lamb</HI> overcome me in the Ocean of Eternal Love, which of a truth I feel and find in me, granted by the good hand of God, <HI>&s;tronger</HI> then the fir&s;t and la&s;t Enemy which is Death, or Lord and power of darkne&s;s, upon the which my Love, which is very life, trampleth as Cells in the infernal places in the utmo&s;t ob&s;curity, in which Love (through perfect fear) I find my Soul e&s;tabli&s;hed and life compleated.</P>
<P><HI>Furthermore,</HI> my dearly beloved Si&s;ters and Brethren, You know the natural influences of the old Cour&s;es, <HI>(viz.)</HI> the love of the Child to the Parents, and the Mothers bowels to the fruit of her Womb; yea, and the love of her who for|&s;aketh Father and Mother and cleaves to her Husband, who&s;e de&s;ire is after her own fle&s;h, concerning and &s;uper-a&s;cending w^c^h, I te&s;tifie (as one who hath ample knowledge of the Prin|cipal &amp; Rare&s;t part of the fir&s;t affection) unto you my infinite|ly beloved in the Eternal vertue; that, as the bright Hea|vens in height are exceedingly above the dark face of the low earth, &s;o is my Love to you, (Oh! my Love, my Love, oh! to you Gods own everla&s;ting inheritance and trea&s;ure exceed|ing all which is of, or hath relation to the fir&s;t birth of the fle&s;h, fle&s;hly in its mo&s;t endeared natural &s;treams and flouds of the fulne&s;&s;e of that love and affection. And although I have thus far made an entrance of oration, yet am &s;till as far from emptying my &s;elf of the incomprehen&s;ibility of his trea&s;ure, as is the entrance of the Ea&s;t-wind, (which no man knowes from whence it comes) to the utmo&s;t pa&s;&s;age of the We&s;t, whi|ther it flyeth, the which no man knoweth whither it goeth.</P>
<P>Ca&s;ually therefore in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, (fora&s;much as this Love &s;hall pro&s;per, the other pine and wither; This &s;hall live, the other dye; This in God is infinite and endle&s;&s;e, the other with the Fabricks fall fully fini&s;hed) I recommend your li|ving Spirits in one word, which is your drink, food, raiment and life to feel me, and reach the pure openings of my inno|cent bo&s;ome to you all, without re&s;pect to any mans per&s;on, from him who &s;its on the throne, even to him who is a door-keeper of the hou&s;e of the Lord, or a <HI>Sweeper</HI> of the entrance of his holy habitation, whereof this is the &s;um; <HI>Lambs,</HI> your
<PB N="5" REF="3" MS="y">
life is my love, and my life to the uttermo&s;t hour of the Ci&s;terns death; and thenceforth a Crown of life for ever, <HI>Amen.</HI> Of which, this is the &s;ure earne&s;t, <HI>The Cro&s;&s;e on my back, and Crown</HI> of Thorns on my head.</P>
<P>And whereas I have a continuall Cloud of witne&s;&s;es in my view; and an immoveable Pillar of Te&s;timony, &s;olidly pitcht in my mo&s;t internal habitation and dwelling; that you the <HI>Quakers</HI> and Tremblers, (who do purely dread and tremble at the Word of the Lord God) <HI>are his cho&s;en Generation,</HI> his Royal Prie&s;t-hood, and mo&s;t peculiar and everla&s;ting inheri|tance. <HI>Furthermore,</HI> having the ample a&s;&s;urance (in the glo|rious light of the Supream Councel) that the holie&s;t prece|ding ages never &s;aw dayes exceeding the glory of your ble&s;&s;ed day, which wonderfully in one hath &s;prung up from on high, and vi&s;ited you with &s;uch a portion of the vertue of God, which although &s;ignes and miracles are plentifully written of and believed, and the gift of Tongues and languages given to divers in the primitive dayes; <HI>Neverthele&s;s, I John,</HI> do bear herein a true record and witne&s;&s;e of God, te&s;tifying, That <HI>Abraham</HI> who talked with God in the Tent door, And <HI>Lot</HI> who entertained the <HI>Angels</HI> in <HI>Sodom. Noah</HI> who built the Ark with <HI>Gopher</HI> wood, And <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> who through the <HI>Red Sea,</HI> led I&s;rael out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> they &s;aw not &s;uch a glory as now is revealed a|mong you.</P>
<P>There were al&s;o among the Holy Apo&s;tles, who prophe&s;ied of you and of your time; They at a di&s;tance &s;aw your day and rejoyced, who witne&s;&s;ed to the Brethren, &s;aying, <HI>He that &s;hall come will come, and will not tarry:</HI> and again, He &s;hall come the &s;econd time without &s;in unto Salvation. And thus, unto you he is come, in whom the promi&s;e (by his coming) is com|pleatly perfected.</P>
<P>If you therefore I &s;hould forget, and bury the thoughts of the Sanctity and cele&s;tial excellency of your life and vertue, in the dark grave of the black belly of <HI>Oblivion;</HI> Then would my fre&s;h green lawrell leaf become as a fire-&s;corched-skin of a wild bea&s;t, and the &s;cent thereof as the &s;moak of Sulphur unto me: my <HI>Palm</HI> branch would be as a burning Torch con|&s;uming my Reins within me, and my P&s;alm and Song of <HI>Ho|&s;anna</HI>
<PB N="6" REF="4">
be as the girdings of howlings about me. Alas! &s;hould I defile the bed of my Spou&s;es Virginity, with the Daughters of <HI>Je&s;abels</HI> attire and beauty, then would the curtains of my Love be as the flame of the Lake, and her bed fall as vengeance upon me. Wherefore, Oh! my wholly Beloved, my Love &s;hall run in the Cannel of fear, and her cour&s;es as the &s;treams of carefulne&s;&s;e towards thee; of which current and conduit I wait under &s;eale of Salvation, that the perfection of all ver|tue is onely and alone retained in the life of the <HI>perfect fear of the Lord God,</HI> in which there is no unbelief or Spirit of doubt; for the perfect <HI>Love,</HI> held in the perfect <HI>fear,</HI> ca&s;teth all that fear out which ari&s;eth of the &s;pirit of di&s;tru&s;t.</P>
<Q>Gods cho&s;en and peculiar Number, of all Statures, Conditions, and Qualifications, The greeting of his Simple Servant, your beloved <HI>Brother.</HI></Q>
<P>YOung begotten by the Immortal &s;eed, wait for the day of your Travaile, and in the pangs thereof, look to your <HI>Deli|verer,</HI> doubt not, that you dye not, for the Salvation of the Woman is in Child-birth. Be patient, and of a pure conten|ted Spirit, and lo, the &s;udden moment will &s;hew thee the Tra|vaile of thy &s;oule, and thy pain &s;hall pa&s;&s;e &s;wiftly from thee; beholding a Man-child, thou &s;halt remember thy &s;orrowes no more.</P>
<Q>Tryall to every hearer and &s;ayer, to know the hearer from the Bearer, The Sayer from the Doer.</Q>
<P>DO&s;t thou &s;peak of <HI>Canaan,</HI> &amp; dwelle&s;t joyned to <HI>Egypts</HI> fle&s;h-pots? there is a Sea and a Wilderne&s;&s;e &s;eparates thee. Do&s;t thou &s;peak of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> in the City of <HI>Sodom?</HI> the walls of her Lu&s;ts do bind thee. Do&s;t thou &s;peak of <HI>Sion</HI> in <HI>My&s;tery-Babylon?</HI> her excelling magnanimity, merchandize, mu&s;ick and &s;orce|ries have enchanted thee: Thou art the inva&s;&s;al'd work of her witch-craft. Why preache&s;t thou the plea&s;ures of <HI>Paradice,</HI> dwelling in the Dungeon of darkne&s;s? Read thy nature, and read thy Father, of the Lyar, the old Serpent; of the envious <HI>Cain,</HI> of the proud <HI>Lucifer,</HI> of the earthly <HI>E&s;au,</HI> of the mocker <HI>I&s;hmael,</HI> of the treacherous <HI>Judas,</HI> of the per&s;ecuter <HI>Pilate,</HI> of
<PB N="7" REF="4" MS="y">
the Glutton <HI>Dives,</HI> of the fal&s;e Prophet <HI>Baal,</HI> of the hireling <HI>Balaam,</HI> be&s;ides more then are now utterable. Each actor read thy di&s;cent from thy own Fathers Loines. Oh! <HI>Profe&s;&s;or,</HI> ha&s;t thou &s;een the &s;laughter of thy fle&s;hly de&s;ires? remaines there nothing which would be &s;omething? If thou ha&s;t but for&s;aken all things, to be reckoned &s;omething, what is thy advance otherwi&s;e but a vain Vapour? Know thy &s;eat in the &s;ecret paths, for the Lord &s;earcheth the heart An&s;wer the Light, and thou an&s;were&s;t God, and the que&s;tions of his &s;incere Ser|vants. <HI>No Zoar,</HI> but by for&s;aking <HI>Sodom; No Canaan,</HI> but through coming out of <HI>Egypt; No Sion,</HI> but by burning of <HI>Ba|bylon; No Paradice,</HI> but through the flaming &s;word; <HI>No Crown</HI> but through the Cro&s;s; <HI>No Heir,</HI> but through travell and pangs. The Con&s;ecration of Bread is not for Dogs food, nor <HI>Manna</HI> for &s;wines meat. <HI>Balaam</HI> hath his hire to day, and the morrow gives his full wage; <HI>Woe, Woe</HI> to all his mercenary Mem|bers.</P>
<P><HI>BABES,</HI> Feel your hunger, and moderately &s;uck the Brea&s;ts of your Mother, not brui&s;ing the Paps with the young &s;harp teeth of the mouth of greedy de&s;ire; Repo&s;e in her Bo&s;ome all the night long, and &s;he will ari&s;e and deck thee at the dawning of the day; &s;he will hold thee in the armes of her Love, and hug thee in the bo&s;ome of her joy.</P>
<P><HI>WEANED CHILDREN,</HI> Eat your Pap and glut not; <HI>Fear,</HI> le&s;t you loath the nouri&s;hment of your life; hate not the Brea&s;t becau&s;e of the wormwood, for the bitter herb was put to wean you; &s;till the brea&s;t is unchangeably the &s;ame.</P>
<P><HI>And you</HI> of the Number that learn to Tattle with the Tongue, hearken to the In&s;truction of your Teacher within, that you may quickly attain to the di&s;tinct and perfect &s;ound of Syllables; and by his Doctrinal precepts in &s;hort progre&s;&s;e, become as Orators of the Councel of God: then will thy voice be a delight to thy Mother; thou wilt hang as a Jewell on her neck.</P>
<P><HI>YO&V;NG MEN,</HI> Drink Wine &amp; refre&s;h you, but be not drunk;
<PB N="8" REF="5">
<HI>Fear</HI> le&s;t your nakedne&s;&s;e be &s;een in a dead &s;leep, where there is none to ca&s;t a Garment over you; grow in prudence, and a double portion &s;hall endow thee in the Mariage: Thy youth not being prodigal, but provident, will acquire the mantle of Prai&s;e &s;pread on the &s;houlders of Wi&s;doms beloved-Son, and in his hou&s;e of antiquity, &s;hall have the &s;eat of a hoary head.</P>
<P><HI>DAMOSELS and VIRGINS,</HI> watch in the Cha&s;tity to keep it; <HI>Fear</HI> le&s;t the product of a moment reduce you to that which is the grief of an old age; For then feeblene&s;s joyns to Joynts, and weakne&s;&s;e &s;eizes on Sinews, and well-&s;et hair drops down on the ground, and baldne&s;&s;e &s;hews the &s;hame of thy youth: but Garlands &s;hall be the glory of thy virginity; thy bloud &s;hall be as the blu&s;h of a Ro&s;e, and thy face as the white Lilly; thy Mother will deck thee as a Damo&s;el Bride, for the Prince of the Scepter of Judah; he will make thy brea&s;ts the bed of his plea&s;ure, and will give thee the &s;trength of his might; thou &s;halt conceive the &s;eed of his Loins, and bear Children like Angels of God; thou &s;halt &s;ee thy Travel and live, thy coun|tenance &s;hall be the compa&s;&s;e of life; thou &s;halt &s;ee the i&s;&s;ue of the day which &s;hall never wa&s;te nor decay.</P>
<P><HI>LABO&V;RERS,</HI> Labour, not &s;training your &s;trength beyond the mea&s;ure of fear, le&s;t you &s;hould return from the &s;tage as maimed members; Labouring in the equall proportion, thy work &s;hall proceed as pro&s;perous, and waiting for the early and later rain, through the pa&s;&s;ages of winter and &s;ummer &s;ea&s;ons, thou &s;halt reap a full harve&s;t, and gather thy Corn into thy Barn; Thou &s;halt eat the bread of thy Labours, and thy Soule &s;hall be &s;atisfied with the good; The Vertue &s;hall cover thy Kidnyes with fatne&s;&s;e, and make thy Belly as an Oyl-brook.</P>
<P><HI>And</HI> oh! ye <HI>MINISTERS</HI> at the Altar, in the Temple of the holy God, who are as continual fuel to the fire, and as a Sacrifice in the mid&s;t of the flames; my living eternally beloved Bre|thren and Si&s;ters in the Almighty power of the mo&s;t high, <HI>I
<PB N="9" REF="5" MS="y">
JOHN</HI> a low &amp; tender Di&s;ciple of the Spirit of life, in Commi&s;|&s;ion of the Supream; to you all, do tran&s;mit the fruit of the &s;eed of the holy word of acceptation, praying God and exhorting, <HI>Per&s;evere</HI> in the race; Let every thorn which pricketh in the &s;ide be as a heavenly Spur, provoking you to a &s;wift cour&s;e. Though I am as the lea&s;t of Gods thou&s;ands, yet &s;urely the vertue of life is ready at my hand. I am full, I am full, even as the laden-&s;hip, even full to the upper deck; but the hand of wi&s;edom doth lock up my hatches; the &s;ub&s;tance is yours in the &s;afe hold. Oh! ye deep Wells, filled with the waters of the fountain, di&s;per&s;e ye as &s;howres, and &s;pread as the rainy clouds. Oh! water, water the plants, be ye as overflowing &s;treams to the tender Vines in the &s;mooth Valleys. Let the voyce of re&s;urrection de&s;cend from your Sphere in the un|changeable Cour&s;es of life; Let the breath of your No&s;trils be as the Winds of the Heavens, di&s;per&s;ing the night clouds; and let the vertue of Re&s;toration, as naturally drop from your mouths, as the di&s;cen&s;ion of the early dew, and as the &s;alt Seas do flow with their con&s;tant &s;avour, that the weak may be &s;trong with the vigour of your vertue, and the &s;trong as him that hath received a &s;even-fold mea&s;ure of valour. God Al|mighty cloath you with the robe of honour, and lead you as Lambs in the life of Je&s;us, in the power of his Mini&s;try, to the end of your race, and Angels &s;hall follow your foot&s;teps, and bear up your train after you; Diadems, Garlands, and Crowns &s;hall &s;ettle on your heads for ever.</P>
<P><HI>TRIB&V;LATED,</HI> The beloved Brethren in Pri&s;ons and Dens for your pure con&s;ciences towards God, Dwell in the patience under the &s;weet cha&s;tizements of your Peace; Pure Lambs and per&s;ecuted ones for Gods Truth and &s;eeds &s;ake, re&s;t in your innocency, yeilded to the &s;laughter according to the example of your fore-runner, alwaies loving your Enemies, praying for your per&s;ecutors, let content be your Crown for ever, <HI>&s;o live, and &s;o dye,</HI> and your bloud of life will la&s;tly give you the Dominion over all, and the innocency thereof &s;peak to the face of God in Judgement, of the earth which drank it; your &s;ouls &s;hall not mi&s;&s;e of their expectation in the bo&s;ome of
<PB N="10" REF="6" MS="y">
God, for his Brea&s;t &s;hall be your Bed of repo&s;e, for who&s;e righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ake, you love not your liberties, nay nor lives unto the death.</P>
<P>Mo&s;t dear ones, I am your Brother in the &s;ame ble&s;&s;ed King|dom of the <HI>Tribulation, Patience,</HI> and <HI>Content,</HI> in&s;tantly mini|&s;tring my Spirits everla&s;ting love to you. Oh! ye made wor|thy in the heavenly <HI>Calling</HI> of the acceptance of &s;o ble&s;&s;ed a Service; <HI>Peace</HI> be unto you, and all Gods flock, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Written in pri&s;on, by</HI> J. P. <DATE>9th. 4th. <HI>month,</HI> 1660.</DATE></DATELINE>
Let this be read with the Spirit of life, in all your holy a&s;&s;emblies.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="poem">
<HEAD>To the Seed of the Kingdom, Plants of the Paradice of God; mo&s;t purely and everla&s;tingly beloved Brethren and Si&s;ters, in the immortall life, <HI>Congratulation.</HI></HEAD>
<L>Can I forget that womb who&s;e Travails were</L>
<L>For me more grievous, then which fle&s;h could bear?</L>
<L>Or bury in Oblivions Grave, that Brea&s;t</L>
<L>Which &s;uckled me? or Cradle of my re&s;t?</L>
<L>Can I forget my friends as deadly foes?</L>
<L>Or &s;corn the bed of heavenly joyes repo&s;e?</L>
<L>Or loath the waters &s;weet, of Jacobs well,</L>
<L>Like Sulphury &s;treams of the infernal Cell?</L>
<L>Can I forget that hand and living bread?</L>
<L>Which in &s;ore famine, freely hath me fed;</L>
<L>Or drown in deeps the thoughts of Gods own breath</L>
<L>To bur&s;t like Judas, &s;trangled unto death?</L>
<L>Nay, for in God, mo&s;t merciful and ju&s;t,</L>
<L>Abides my confidence, faith, hope, and tru&s;t.</L>
<L>Ah Sion, Sion, thy mo&s;t glorious life,</L>
<L>Is all to me, my joy, I am thy wife:</L>
<L>And therefore if I &s;hould make &s;leight of thee,</L>
<L>Then all thy good would be a &s;ting to me;</L>
<L><PB N="11" REF="6" MS="y">Then would my Bow again&s;t me &s;urely bend,</L>
<L>And all my darts into my body &s;end,</L>
<L>And all the pointed Arrowes of my Quiver,</L>
<L>Would &s;orely &s;tick fa&s;t in my heart and Liver.</L>
<L>Then would my &s;word which on my Loines is bound,</L>
<L>Fall &s;harp on me, and leave a mortal wound:</L>
<L>Yea, then the Teeth of this my In&s;trument,</L>
<L>Would fle&s;h from bones, and all my intrals rent.</L>
<L>My honey would become as Rue and Gall,</L>
<L>And heavenly &s;howres like &s;nares of fire would fall</L>
<L>&V;pon my head, yea then my plea&s;ant Wine,</L>
<L>Would be as molten lead; And this &s;treight Line,</L>
<L>Would mark out all, even as an equal due,</L>
<L>Which gives clear &s;ight that God's mo&s;t ju&s;t and true.</L>
<L>The oyl which burns within this Lamp of Gold,</L>
<L>Would al&s;o me in flames of fire fold:</L>
<L>For then would Shilo all his currents make</L>
<L>To me, like as the fiery burning lake;</L>
<L>Should I become like as a turning vane,</L>
<L>Then this my bread would be my deadly bane.</L>
<L>My marrow would become like pitch and tar</L>
<L>In dreadful flames; yea then the morning &s;tar,</L>
<L>Which hath reveal'd his glorious &s;hining light,</L>
<L>Would gird me in the hideous howling night;</L>
<L>But &s;urely I to Gods own mercy have</L>
<L>Committed all, who&s;e grace doth freely &s;ave;</L>
<L>Weakne&s;&s;e is mine, but &s;trength's in Gods own hand,</L>
<L>By which alone, <HI>in fear,</HI> I live and &s;tand:</L>
<L>In bapti&s;mes fire, exceedings <HI>John</HI>'s, who lead</L>
<L>To Jordans deeps, whom <HI>Herod</HI> did behead.</L>
<L>Ah! Babes mo&s;t dear, with you in that I am,</L>
<L>Which gives to &s;ee me as a patient Lamb,</L>
<L>In pure content, bearing the yoak and Cro&s;&s;e,</L>
<L>E&s;teeming mortall, but as dung and dro&s;&s;e;</L>
<L>In ta&s;te of vertue, of the heavenly &s;eed,</L>
<L>At Gods own Table with you all I feed;</L>
<L>With each low worm in his own proper mea&s;ure,</L>
<L>I drink a dram of the &s;weet wine of plea&s;ure,</L>
<L><PB N="12" REF="7" MS="y">My &s;oule in ardency of life doth &s;ay,</L>
<L>I am as near you as the light the day.</L>
<L>As firmly fixt like fle&s;h unto your bones,</L>
<L>As in the mountains &s;olid rocks and &s;tones:</L>
<L>As reall in you though no fle&s;h can &s;ee,</L>
<L>As is the Sap in the green Olive Tree:</L>
<L>I've cho&s;en you like as the Turtle Dove,</L>
<L>To be di&s;&s;olv'd in this mo&s;t con&s;tant Love.</L>
<L>I want the words of wi&s;doms deep profound,</L>
<L>To &s;hew how deep y'are planted in this ground:</L>
<L>What &s;hall I &s;ay unto my heart within?</L>
<L>Where can&s;t thou end, but where thou did&s;t begin;</L>
<L>And there the Rivers run, exceeding mea&s;ure,</L>
<L>What &s;hall I &s;ay of this my Loves va&s;t trea&s;ure;</L>
<L>You have much more then this weak hand can write,</L>
<L>For all is yours which Spirit doth indite;</L>
<L>My Spirits al&s;o with and in you all,</L>
<L>Who by the &s;ame are &s;aved from the fall.</L>
<L>Can I within me le&s;&s;e affection find,</L>
<L>Then worms or beasts who love their proper kind?</L>
<L>Nay Lambs, ye know in living &s;ub&s;tance well,</L>
<L>That my Brooks current, mortal doth excel.</L>
<L>For this my &s;tream towards the deep doth run,</L>
<L>As doth my flame a&s;cend towards the Sun.</L>
<L>No wi&s;e Philo&s;opher did ever know</L>
<L>The moving Cau&s;e, why Seas do ebbe and flow;</L>
<L>Nor of them all within their Tombs do lye,</L>
<L>E're &s;aw the Love, which moves the Sun to fly,</L>
<L>In Cour&s;e mo&s;t &s;wift round heavens wide&s;t wheel,</L>
<L>But Gods Ho&s;t now, the cau&s;e and life doth feel.</L>
<L>The le&s;&s;er to the greater is well known,</L>
<L>And each true nature moves towards its own.</L>
<L>Here's fire below, the greater flames above,</L>
<L>Till twain are joyned, they do yearn both in Love.</L>
<L>Th'ore whelming flouds which on the earth were &s;ent</L>
<L>In Noahs day, dropt from the firmament;</L>
<L>Be&s;ides, you &s;ee how raining clouds do bring,</L>
<L>Refre&s;hing &s;howres in plea&s;ant time of &s;pring;</L>
<L><PB N="13" REF="7" MS="y">And fills the fountains which are here below,</L>
<L>And &s;till the &s;treams unto the Seas do flow,</L>
<L>And all their Tides, wherein they alwaies move,</L>
<L>Shew their affection, to the Seas above.</L>
<L>Now read me and my Love, which tongue can't &s;peak,</L>
<L>To you my life, which death, nor hell can break;</L>
<L>Yet &s;till I pray, <HI>in fear,</HI> that God defend</L>
<L>Me, from the ill, and &s;ave me to the end.</L>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Amen. <HI>J. P.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<P><HI>BRETHREN</HI> and <HI>SISTERS,</HI> Look purely to your proper life, to be able to &s;tand the Tryall of the day: Happily you may know what you are to day, but who can &s;ay what he &s;hall be to morrow? Let none look out at me, but within to feel me, for I look up to God, and the cup which I patiently &s;wal|low is honey-&s;weet in my belly; God hath heard my prayers, and an&s;wered me, wherein my &s;oule is refre&s;hed, who&s;e favour I be&s;ought with watches and careful tears, that you might know, and now it is enough that you do know, that I have lived, and in the life do live as an offered Sacrifice to dye in God: And therefore now for the fabrick quickly to &s;tretch on its la&s;t bed, and there to &s;leep the long &s;leep, it is but one to me, as to walk, or rather, it is better to me for it to repo&s;e in her mothers womb, <HI>for lo I &s;hall live and not dye.</HI></P>
<P>All dear &s;ucking <HI>Lambs</HI> and <HI>Sheep</HI> of the fold, pray for me every where, Pray in the Spirit and cea&s;e not, for the lowe&s;t groan God heareth.</P>
<P><HI>HOLY SEED,</HI> Be pure unto the end, and the <HI>Crown</HI> and <HI>Kingdom</HI> is yours. So the Father in his Love, keep you in the Love and Unity, and make your day as the <HI>&s;pring</HI> which covereth the earth with green.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>J. P.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="14" REF="8">
<P><HI>ABRAHAM</HI> believed, and his faith was imputed to him for Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; And <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in the &s;ame &s;teps marched through the Red Sea, and the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> followed him and were &s;aved; but the pre&s;umption of the enemy God drowned in the deeps thereof; Ah! how many were his works of power to a murmuring people in the wilderne&s;&s;e? and how wonderfully al&s;o did he alwayes &s;ave <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> in the extream deep times of tryall?</P>
<P>Oh &s;eed of the holy one, all mo&s;t dear and precious plants of the heavenly Kings renown, I have alwayes in Spirit been among you, and frequently have tran&s;mitted my exhortations in the fulne&s;&s;e of the bowels of Love and life unto you, &s;ay|ing, wait for the Triall to &s;tand it, and bear it, for the Lord God will have Gold and no Tin. He will have Turtle-Doves perfect white, and no party-coloured birds. And therefore again I &s;ay, O ye bones, be joyned with the Sinnews; O ye veins, loo&s;e not your bloud, for that is the life of all Crea|tures; But Lambs, be ye patient and content, and look up and wait a while and you &s;hall &s;ee, and &s;tand in the power, and the power will &s;tand in you, and in it pray the Father, and the Father will hear you.</P>
<P>And grieve not if a Thi&s;tle or Thorn &s;hould blo&s;&s;om, for lo the North wind can bla&s;t it, and then it will fall to the Grave of forgetfulne&s;&s;e: Con&s;ider my Brethren, who made the Ro&s;e, a Ro&s;e? and cannot he al&s;o make the Bryar a Lilly? and hath not our God made that of good, which the Son of man thought would never be for a &s;ervice of good? how|ever tryals &s;hall be for your everla&s;ting good, as you abide to the day.</P>
<P>I te&s;tifie to you, that all Nations is but as one man, and him as the du&s;t of the ground before the Lord God; And who can &s;ay, of what God Almighty made the du&s;t? yea, or the Globe of the whole earth: Ah Lambs, am not I your Brother in the heat of a hot day? The Lord our Righteou&s;ne&s;s keep you, as his mercy pre&s;erveth me an object for your pure eye to look on; but look ye not out, but dwell within, for, from the
<PB N="15" REF="8" MS="y">
pre&s;ence of the Eternal power, I &s;peak, The earth &s;hall rowle as a &s;mooth iron ball ca&s;t down a &s;teep hill, which finds no lett untill it's fallen to the bottom thereof; untill that the King reign who&s;e right of due it is; and therefore, under the Scepter of his Government, dwell ye in the peace, and in the pure content, and his favour will countenance you beyond your hearts expectation; And this is the <HI>Word of the Lord God,</HI> which changeth times, unto all Gods people upon the face of the earth, to whom my whole Soul and Spirit is knit, and united in the perfect life of the living body.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>John the pri&s;oner of Chri&s;t</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>9th. 4th. <HI>Month,</HI> 1660.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>THE END.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Thomas Simmons,</HI> at the <HI>Bull</HI> and <HI>Mouth</HI> near <HI>Alder&s;gate,</HI> 1660.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
