<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>8-31-09</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Added TEMPHEAD, checked ID, and added TYPEs to DIVs in order to validate. Proofed title. Checked ^s. Reviewed structure. Checked placement and completeness of PBs. Checked for damage GAPs, #s, @s, --s, oe's, and UNCLEARs. Corrected [dollar]s. Checked for EPIGRAPHs and ARGUMENTs. Checked spacing of foreign GAPs. Checked CLOSERs, BYLINEs, SIGNEDs, OPENERs, SALUTEs, and TRAILERs. Checked for startqs and endqs, abq's, Ae's, qs, and Qs. Checked I / Js and U / Vs. Checked proofsheets and made corrections. Sample: 2 minutes. Proofing: 10 minutes. Tag review and corrections: 15 minutes. DONE.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A95593">
<STC T="W">T537</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">36282105</BIBNO>
<VID>150318</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="testimony">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>A
FAITHFUL TESTIMONY
For the Lord again&s;t this
Nation of England's
INIQUITY, and IDOLATRY, and OPPRESSION,
Becau&s;e of which the Land mourneth.
Being al&s;o a WARNING to all People to con&s;ider what they have done, and what they
are a doing.</HEAD>
<P>OH All People of the World, Repent, Repent, and turn to the Lord,
le&s;t his dreadful Judgments fall upon you! All People fear and dread
and &s;erve the Living God: And know, that the Lord God of Heaven
and Earth hath cau&s;ed me, <HI>Laurence Taylor</HI> of <HI>Settle,</HI> to go &s;everal Times with
my Body naked, and my outward Vi&s;age or Beauty marred with Grime or
Soot, and A&s;hes on my Head: I &s;ay, the Lord God of Heaven and Earth hath
commanded me &s;everal Times to go into &s;everal Steeple-Hou&s;es in that Man|ner,
and through &s;everal Towns, which may &s;tand a Sign and a Witne&s;s again&s;t
this naked and &s;inful Generation, who&s;e Wor&s;hip is not in Spirit and Truth,
and Souls not covered with the Spirit of Truth, which the Wo is unto; <HI>For
Wo unto them, who cover, but not with the Covering of my Spirit, &s;aith the
Lord,</HI> I&s;a. 30. 1: And God will marr their Beauty, and con&s;ume their Glory
into A&s;hes: Therefore, all People turn your Minds in, to the Light of Chri&s;t,
and with it you will &s;ee how you &s;tand in the Sight of the Living God; for
verely, the Lord is grieved with this Generation, and his Spirit is burdened
with the Iniquity of this People, who profe&s;s <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> but are <HI>Enemies
to the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t,</HI> and hate the Appearance of his Truth: Therefore in
the Name of the Lord, I warn you, Repent, and turn to the Lord, le&s;t his
Dreadful Judgments fall upon you; and &s;eek the Lord while he is to be found,
le&s;t the Door be &s;hut, and you &s;tand without, having &s;lighted the Day of your
Vi&s;itation: So while you have Time, prize it; and &s;eek the Lord, while
you have a Day and a Time, le&s;t the Night come in which no Man can work.
This from a Lover of Peoples Souls.</P>
<P>And upon the <HI>13th</HI> of the <HI>12th</HI> Month, called <HI>February</HI> at Night, 1674.
I was moved by the Lord God to &s;have the Hair of my Head, and burn it; and
the&s;e Words aro&s;e in my Heart, <HI>So &s;hall the Glory of</HI> Egypt <HI>be con&s;umed into
A&s;hes by the fiery Jealou&s;ie and fierce Indignation of the Wrath of the Lord,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>And on the <HI>14th</HI> Day of the <HI>12th</HI> Month, being fir&s;t Day of the Week, in
Obedience to the Lord God, I went into the great Steeple-Hou&s;e at <HI>Rippon</HI>
(called <HI>Min&s;ter</HI>) with my Body naked (and as above-mentioned) and further
I had to &s;ignifie unto the chief Wor&s;hippers there, that their Hands are polluted,
their Sacrifices not acceptable with God, their Prayers an Abomination to the
Lord, &amp;c.</P>
<P>And &s;o for going into the Steeple-Hou&s;e at <HI>Rippon</HI> with my Body naked,
and bearing my Te&s;timony for the Lord, in being a Sign again&s;t this naked and
&s;inful Generation, their fal&s;e Wor&s;hip, and fal&s;e Wor&s;hippers, was I hurried
to Pri&s;on, and committed Pri&s;oner, as they pretend, for di&s;turbing them; but
they di&s;turbed me, who was in the Lord's Service; and for obeying the Voice
of the Lord God, have they cau&s;ed my Body to be detained in outward Bonds;
but with my Spirit I can &s;ing Prai&s;es to God for his unlimited Goodne&s;s, who&s;e
Mercy endureth for ever; So &s;aith my Soul, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<P>But Wo, Wo, unto the fal&s;e Wor&s;hippers, who wor&s;hip not the living God,
and mo&s;t e&s;pecially, to the Prie&s;ts, Teachers, Leaders and Guiders of this
fooli&s;h and dark, ignorant and &s;otti&s;h People, who u&s;ually a&s;&s;emble at the
great <HI>Min&s;ter</HI> at <HI>Rippon;</HI> as al&s;o to all other People who are in the &s;ame Er|ror;
the Lord is again&s;t you the fal&s;e Teachers, <HI>who preach for Hire, and di|vine
for Money,</HI> and al&s;o again&s;t you People who <HI>love to have it &s;o;</HI> con&s;ider
your Wayes, you Prie&s;ts and Teachers, <HI>blind Guides, who run, and the Lord
never &s;ent you, therefore ye &s;hall not profit this People at all,</HI> as in <HI>Jer.</HI> 23. 32.
<HI>And one builds a Wall, and lo, others daub it with &V;ntempered Morter, crying,
Peace, Peace,</HI> Ezek. 13. 10. <HI>When the Lord never pronounced it; for there
is no Peace to the Wicked, &s;aith my God,</HI> I&s;a. 57. 21. Therefore, thus &s;aith
the Lord, I am again&s;t you Prie&s;ts and Teachers of this Nation of <HI>England,</HI>
who cau&s;e my People to err by your Lyes, and by your Lightne&s;s or Lewdne&s;s;
for you &s;ay, <HI>thus &s;aith the Lord,</HI> when the Lord never &s;poak by you; for you &s;ay
(<HI>Vi&s;ions and Revelations are cea&s;ed,</HI> and you <HI>deny the Teaching of the Holy One,</HI>
and you <HI>teach for Doctrine the Traditions of Men,</HI> and you <HI>lay wait for Blood,</HI>
deceiving the Souls of the &s;imple by your Lyes &amp; Deceits; for you <HI>call evil good,
and good you call evil;</HI> you <HI>put Darkne&s;s for Light, and Light for Darkne&s;s;</HI> you
<HI>turn the Blind out of the Way,</HI> and you <HI>Blind Guides lead the Blind, &s;o both fall in|to
the Ditch</HI> and <HI>Pit,</HI> and into the Snare; and if any one of tho&s;e who&s;e Eyes the
Lord hath opened, bears witne&s;s again&s;t you, then <HI>ye prepare War again&s;t them,
or if they put not into your Mouthes,</HI> Micah 3. 5. Oh! how many of the Ser|vants
of the Lord have you cau&s;ed to &s;uffer for their Te&s;timonies &s;ake? &s;ome
for not paying Tythes, &s;ome who have been impri&s;oned till Death, and many
cau&s;ed to &s;uffer deeply in their Goods, be&s;ides Violence on the Bodyes of many
u&s;ed; and &s;ome by hard U&s;age and Cruelty have &s;uffered Death, and &s;ealed
their Te&s;timony with their Blood, which you are guilty of who continue in
the &s;ame Spirit, and follow the &s;ame Practices; you are of them <HI>who lead Cap|tive
&s;illy Women laden with Sins and divers Lu&s;ts, ever learning, and never able
to come to the true Knowledge of God,</HI> 2 Tim. 3. 6, 7. You are of them who
<HI>are in the Way of</HI> Cain, <HI>and run greedily after the Error of</HI> Balaam <HI>for Reward,
and peri&s;h in the gain-&s;aying of</HI> Core, Jude 11. <HI>But you &s;hall not proceed much
further; for your Folly is manife&s;t to all</HI> who&s;e Eyes the Lord hath opened, to
&s;ee your Nakedne&s;s; and your Fig-Leaf-like Profe&s;&s;ion will not cover you, nor
&s;ave you from the Wrath of the Almighty God: Therefore, howl, howl,
you fal&s;e Shepherds; lament and weep you blind Guides; for the Lord is
ari&s;en to render Fury to his Adver&s;aries, who de&s;pi&s;e his Way and Truth, and
<HI>would not have him to reign, who&s;e Right it is;</HI> Glory be to his Name forever,
who is God over all.</P>
<P>And &s;o in the Name of the Lord I warn you fal&s;e Teachers and blind Guides
to cea&s;e deceiving the People, le&s;t you be farther guilty of the Blood of Souls.</P>
<P>And al&s;o to you the <HI>Magi&s;trates and Rulers</HI> in this Nation of <HI>England,</HI> who
have made Laws to take hold of the Innocent, this is the Word of the Lord
unto you, <HI>I am again&s;t you,</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>who per&s;ecute the Ju&s;t;</HI> therefore
take heed how you hearken to the murdering Spirit of the Prie&s;ts, who &s;tir up
the Powers of the Earth to defend them, and to per&s;ecute the Ju&s;t and In|nocent
People of God. Oh! but con&s;ider how it was the chief Prie&s;ts that
&s;tirred up the Officers, and cryed to <HI>Pilate</HI> to crucifie Chri&s;t; and the &s;ame
Spirit is in the Prie&s;ts and Teachers of this Nation of <HI>England</HI> at this Day:
and &s;o in the Name of the Lord, I warn you chief Magi&s;trates and Judges, or
any other, take heed how you make Laws, or inflict them upon the innocent
People of God, called <HI>Quakers;</HI> for the Lord's Controver&s;ie is great with this
Nation of <HI>England;</HI> and Wo unto them who are found fighting again&s;t the
Lord in this the Day of his Power, in which there &s;hall be nothing able to &s;tand
before the Lord, which is not of him; for he is King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords, and the Earth is the Lords and the Fulne&s;s thereof, and he gives it to
whom he plea&s;es, and he can pull down whom he plea&s;es, and exalt whom he
plea&s;es; therefore let all fear him who made Heaven and Earth and all that is
therein, in who&s;e Hands is the <HI>Breath of the Spirits of all Fle&s;h,</HI> Glory and End|le&s;s
Prai&s;es be to his Holy Name forever and ever, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>From a Servant of the Lord, who&s;e
Name in the Fle&s;h is called,
<HI>Laurence Taylor.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>The 19th of the 1&s;t
Month, 1675.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
