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<DATE>7-28-09</DATE>
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<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<VID>173019</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
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<HEAD>A few Words in Love to all tho&s;e Bi&s;hops, Prie&s;ts &amp; Magi&s;trates, And Others, who have a Hand in Per&s;ecuting the INNOCENT, (And yet look to be Excu&s;ed, becau&s;e, as they think, they have <HI>Law</HI> for what they do) For them to VVeigh and Con&s;ider in the Fear of God, and then &s;ee <HI>How far they will &s;tand Ju&s;tified in his Sight.</HI></HEAD>
<P>DO you think it is not hard mea&s;ure for People to be ca&s;t into Pri&s;on only for Con&s;cience-&s;ake, and there to be kept Year after Year, and no notice taken of us, except it be to continue us Pri&s;oners? Oh con&s;ider! there hath been care taken for the Relief of poor Debtors, but &s;ome of the People of God called <HI>Quakers</HI> have been continued Pri&s;oners &s;everal Years, and no care taken for our Relief, by any of our Per&s;ecutors: Is this to vi&s;it Pri&s;oners ac|cording to the Mind of Chri&s;t? &s;ee <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. If tho&s;e that <HI>will not Feed the Hungry, Cloath the Naked and Vi&s;it &s;uch Pri&s;oners,</HI> as truly believe in Chri&s;t, which he calls <HI>Brethren, mu&s;t go into Everla&s;ting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels,</HI> what will become of tho&s;e who have a hand in ca&s;ting into Pri&s;on, and in taking that away from &s;uch as truly believe in Chri&s;t, which &s;hould &s;atisfie their Hunger, and cloath their Nakedne&s;s? Con&s;ider this, ye Per&s;ecutors of all &s;orts; <HI>A Dreadful Day of Vengeance</HI> from the Lord is near to come upon you, except ye Repent and amend your Wayes! the Cry of the Oppre&s;&s;ed is loud in the Ears of the Lord God of Heaven and Earth! and he will &s;urely vi&s;it this Nation of <HI>England</HI> for its Inquities! He takes what is done unto his People, as done unto him&s;elf, whether it be good or evil. Chri&s;t &s;aid to <HI>Saul</HI> when he was going to <HI>Dama&s;cus</HI> to bring &s;uch as called upon the Name of the Lord bound to <HI>Jeru&s;alem, Saul, Saul, why Per&s;ecute&s;t thou me?</HI> [Mark, It was <HI>Christ Je&s;us</HI> that <HI>Saul</HI> was Per&s;ecuting, although its like he might think, as &s;ome do in the&s;e days, <HI>That he was not per&s;ecuting Je&s;us, but a company of &s;tubborn Fellows that would not obey the Laws, nor &s;atisfie the Wills of the Prie&s;ts,</HI> from whom he had his Letters to per&s;ecute, as perhaps &s;ome have now.] But further Je&s;us &s;aid, <HI>Its hard for thee to kick again&s;t the Prick:</HI> Take notice of this, ye <HI>Per&s;ecutors,</HI> are ye not &s;ometimes pricked in your Hearts, when ye take our Goods, or ca&s;t our Bodies into Pri&s;on? and do you not kick again&s;t it, and make merry over that in your &s;elves, which witne&s;&s;es again&s;t you, and boul&s;ter up your &s;elves with the Law? but certainly the Law will not excu&s;e you. <HI>Paul,</HI> as touching the Law, &s;aid, <HI>He walked Blamele&s;s;</HI> which is more than many of our Per&s;ecutors do now adayes; yet he was a Per&s;ecutor (and a Con&s;ent or to the Death of that ble&s;&s;ed Martyr <HI>Stephen)</HI> a Bla&s;phemer and the chief of Sinners! <HI>O wretched man that I am!</HI> &s;aid he, <HI>who &s;hall deliver me from this Body of Sin and Death?</HI> He was delivered, but not whil&s;t he followed, and &s;ought to keep favour with the Prie&s;ts; <HI>It was the Law of the Spirit of Life in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> which made him Free from the Law of Sin and Death, and then they hated him, and per&s;ecu|ted him al&s;o: But I would not be mi&s;-under&s;tood, for the Law which is for the puni&s;hment of Evil-doers, and the Prai&s;e of them that do well, we dearly own and obey, and the re&s;t we &s;uffer under, without &s;eeking Revenge; but the heavenly God is angry with all &s;uch who make u&s;e of Laws to Spoil their Neighbours Goods, and ca&s;t their Bodies into Pri&s;on, which were not made nor intended again&s;t them, as is manife&s;t at this time in <HI>England;</HI> there is no Peo|ple in the Nation more clear in Judgment and Practice again&s;t Popery, than we who are called <HI>Quakers;</HI> and yet it is known to the Lord and many People, how greatly many of us have and do Suffer by Laws made only again&s;t them, and al&s;o by an Act made in latter Years, by which our Goods are &s;poiled by wicked Infor|mers, for our peaceable Meeting together to Wor&s;hip God; I &s;ay, God is Angry with all &s;uch that cau&s;e People to &s;uffer for the Exerci&s;e of their tender Con|&s;ciences to him; and it will not be wa&s;hing of their hands, <HI>Pilate-</HI>like, and &s;ay|ing, <HI>It is not them, but the Law, by which we &s;uffer,</HI> that will excu&s;e them; the <HI>Jews</HI> pleaded Law again&s;t Chri&s;t, but will any Chri&s;tian &s;ay, <HI>they were Excu&s;a|ble becau&s;e of that?</HI> no &s;uch matter: If they had rightly under&s;tood the Law, or had not been wilfully blind, they might have &s;een that the Law took no hold of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, being Innocent; but their Envy blinded their Eyes, &s;o that they cho&s;e to have <HI>Barabas</HI> relea&s;ed, who for certain In&s;urrection made in the City, and for Murder was ca&s;t into Pri&s;on, and the Son of God they would have crucified, &s;aying, with one accord, <HI>Away with him.</HI> And oh that none may be of their minds in <HI>England!</HI> who made the Innocent to &s;uffer, and let the Guilty go free.</P>
<P>But &s;ome may <HI>Object,</HI> and &s;ay, <HI>The Law is plain for the</HI> Payment of Tythes, <HI>for</HI> Swearing before a Magi&s;trate, <HI>and for</HI> Going to Church, <HI>and you</HI> Quakers <HI>will do none of the&s;e, which is a great Cau&s;e of your Sufferings now.</HI></P>
<P>Well, as to the&s;e Particulars there hath been &s;o many faithful Te&s;timonies born, both in Sufferings, Words and Writings, which one would think might have convinced our Per&s;ecutors, if they had not wilfully &s;hut their Eyes and &s;toped their Ears; therefore I &s;hall only make a &s;hort Reply for the clearing of my &s;elf.</P>
<P>And <HI>fir&s;t,</HI> as touching <HI>Tythes,</HI> Its true, they were commanded in the time of the <HI>Levitical</HI> Law; but Chri&s;t Je&s;us was and is the End of that Law, for Righteou&s;|ne&s;s-&s;ake to every one that believes; and he &s;ent his Mini&s;ters to preach Freely; and the Apo&s;tle &s;aith in <HI>Heb. 7. There is a di&s;anulling of the Commandment going before, for the Weakne&s;s and &V;nprofitablene&s;s thereof: And the Prie&s;thood being Changed,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>there is of Nece&s;&s;ity a Change of the Law.</HI> So its plain they were Ended by Chri&s;t, and were brought up again in the Mid-night of <HI>Darkne&s;s</HI> and <HI>Popery;</HI> and &s;ince have been a very great Oppre&s;&s;ion; and God hath re|quired us to bear our Te&s;timonies again&s;t them, for which many of us have &s;uf|fered great Spoiling of our Goods, and &s;ome Impri&s;onment till Death, in na&s;ty Holes; and many are Pri&s;oners at this time, as Witne&s;&s;es again&s;t them.</P>
<P>And as concerning <HI>Swearing,</HI> I have this to &s;ay, and that from the Lord God, That there is no Safety to any Magi&s;trate or People in Oathes; and the Lord, who&s;e Command all the Swearers break, will make the Sons of men to know it in his own time; and if they did not wilfully &s;hut their Eyes, they might have &s;ome &s;ight of it already; for how often have &s;ome of the People of <HI>England</HI> Sworn too and again, &s;ometimes One Way, and &s;omtimes Another? notwith|&s;tanding our Lord and Ma&s;ter Chri&s;t Je&s;us &s;aith, <HI>Swear Not at all;</HI> and the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Above all things my Brethren</HI> Swear <HI>not;</HI> and the Prophet &s;aith, <HI>Becau&s;e of</HI> Swearing <HI>the Land Mourns;</HI> and &s;o doth this Land, and will more and more, if this Yoke of Oppre&s;&s;ion be not taken off the Neck of the Oppre&s;&s;ed, who deny Swearing for no other end, but for Con&s;cience-&s;ake, it being a Breach of the Command of Chri&s;t, and have more regard to their Words, than many have to their Oaths.</P>
<P>And as concerning <HI>Going to Church,</HI> as it is called; The Church which is in God, the Pillar and Ground of Truth, we dearly own and joyn unto; and we do Wor&s;hip God in Spirit and Truth, which is the Wor&s;hip that Chri&s;t Je&s;us &s;et up above Sixteen Hundred Years ago: And we think it hard Mea&s;ure, that we &s;hould be made to &s;uffer &s;o deeply by long Impri&s;onments and Spoiling of our Goods, for &s;o long warranted a Practice, e&s;pecially by &s;uch who &s;eem to pray for the &s;ame them&s;elves, as may be &s;een at large in the Book of <HI>Common-Prayer;</HI> but &s;urely the Law will not excu&s;e our Per&s;ecutors before the great God of Heaven and Earth; therefore, Oh that they would lay it to heart, and cea&s;e fighting again&s;t him, for he will be too hard for them! The Day ha&s;tens that he will Avenge the Sufferings of his People; he &s;ees what Snares are laid for the Innocent, and how Mi&s;chief is hatched upon the Beds of the Ungodly, and what Wickedne&s;s is daily acted in the Streets, both of great Towns and Villages, in Sports and Playes; and he al&s;o &s;ees what is done in &s;ecret; Oh! therefore, Repent, Repent in time, you that have any Tenderne&s;s or Remor&s;e upon your Spirits! Turn to the Lord, that he may heal you and gather you in|to his heavenly Ark, where the Safety only is; for a Day of Sorrow and Trouble draws near to come upon all the Ungodly, and many Warnings you have had: Oh! how large hath the Love of God been to this Nation! How often hath he di&s;covered the Wickedne&s;s of the Wicked, who have &s;ought its Ruin, and hath given you &s;pace to Repent, as well as a &s;ight of your Enemies? There|fore do not make the Innocent to &s;uffer, but cea&s;e to do Evil, and learn to do Well, that the Lord may &s;hew Mercy unto you, and gather you under the Shadow of his Heavenly Wings, that ye may be Nouri&s;hed and Sheltered from the Devourer.</P>
<CLOSER><HI>Thus far I have cleared my &s;elf of that which for &s;ome time hath lain upon me,</HI> 
<SIGNED>who am a Lover of Truth, and yet continued a Pri&s;oner for it, with Fourteen more of my Suffering Brethren.
John Willsford.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>The 22d of the 3d Moneth, 1680.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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