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<DATE>2009-09-01</DATE>
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<NAME>Pip Willcox</NAME>
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<VID>192062</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<P><PB REF="1">
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AN Epi&s;tle of Love AND Tender Advice, TO <HI>Friends</HI> and <HI>Brethren</HI> IN AMERICA, Or el&s;ewhere; To live in the Truth, that they may &s;hew forth the Virtue and Effects of it in a Holy Life.</P>
<P><HI>By your Friend and Brother in the Truth, who Travels for</HI> Sion<HI>'s Pro&s;perity,</HI></P>
<P><HI>William Bingley.</HI></P>
<P>1 Pet. 5. 3. <HI>Being En&s;amples to the Flock.</HI></P>
<P>Ephe&s;. 5. 1, 2. And <HI>Be ye therefore Followers of God, as dear Children, and walk in Love, as Chri&s;t al&s;o hath loved us.</HI></P>
<P>Printed by <HI>Andrew Sowle:</HI> And &s;old at the <HI>Three-Keys</HI> in <HI>Nags-Head-Court</HI> in <HI>Grace-Church-Street,</HI> 1689.</P>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="testimony">
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<HEAD>A TESTIMONY And whole&s;ome Advice concerning MARRIAGE.</HEAD>
<P>MArriage is honourable in all, and the Bed undefiled, and it is Gods Ordinance, and is not to be forbidden, and whom God joins together no Man is to put a&s;under; and this is the Marriage that hath a Ble&s;&s;ing, that minds Gods Joining, and Gods Ordinance; and the people of God were to practice it in all Ages, and the Faithful did ob&s;erve and do it: As <HI>Abraham,</HI> the Father and Pattern of the Faithful, charged his chief Servant to go to his own People, and take a Wife for his Son <HI>I&s;aac;</HI> and &s;aid, the Lord God of Heaven and Earth &s;hall &s;end his Angel before thee; and his Servant (at Gods appointment) took <HI>Rebekah,</HI> and <HI>I&s;aac</HI> brought <HI>Rebekah</HI> to his Mothers Tent, and took her to Wife, <HI>Gen.</HI> 24. So here was Gods Ordinance and Gods Join|ing. And <HI>I&s;aac</HI> did not go contrary to God and his Fathers mind to take a Wife of the Daughters of <HI>Canaan,</HI> nor had a Prie&s;t to marry them; and <HI>I&s;aac</HI> was ble&s;&s;ed of God, and he gave him <HI>Jacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au:</HI> And <HI>E&s;au</HI> de&s;pi&s;ed his Birth right, and married of the Daughters of the <HI>Hittites,</HI> which grieved his Father and his Mother, <HI>Gen.</HI> 26. 35. So <HI>E&s;au</HI> went from Gods Joining, and grieved his Parents, and <HI>Rebekah</HI> &s;aid to <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> if <HI>Jacob</HI> take a Wife of the Daughters of the Land, &s;uch as the&s;e be, what good will my Life do me? <HI>Gen.</HI> 24. 46.
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So here you may &s;ee the great care of <HI>Rebekah</HI> to pre&s;erve her Son from the Snare that <HI>E&s;au</HI> was come into, in this of Join|ing in Marriage with other People; and <HI>I&s;aac</HI> called his Son <HI>Jacob</HI> and charged him, and &s;aid, thou &s;halt not take a Wife of the Daughters of <HI>Canaan,</HI> but &s;halt go to thy Mothers Kin|dred, and God Almighty ble&s;s thee and pro&s;per thee, <HI>Gen.</HI> 28. And <HI>Jacob</HI> obeyed his Father and his Mother; and the Lord appeared to him in his Journey and ble&s;&s;ed him, and &s;aid I will greatly multiply thee, and will be with thee: And <HI>Jacob</HI> &s;aid if God will ble&s;s me and pro&s;per me in the way that I go, and bring me to my Fathers hou&s;e in Peace, then &s;hall the Lord be my God, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 21. So here you may &s;ee <HI>Jacob</HI> minds the Lord, and obeyed his Parents in his choo&s;ing a Wife; and the Lord ble&s;&s;ed him abundantly. And the Sons of <HI>Jacob</HI> could not &s;uffer their Si&s;ter to marry with a Stranger though he was a great Prince. And the <HI>Jews</HI> which were the Off-&s;pring of <HI>Abra|ham, I&s;aac,</HI> and <HI>Jacob,</HI> were not to join in Marriage with other People; as it is written, thou &s;halt not take their Daughters to thy Sons, nor give thy Daughters to their Sons; for they will turn your Hearts from the Lord after other Gods, <HI>Deut.</HI> 7. 3. <HI>Jo&s;.</HI> 13. 12. So here you may &s;ee, according to Gods Ordinance, there is a power in Parents in giving their Daugh|ters in Marriage, and in taking Daughters to their Sons; they have a part in their Children to give and take in ca&s;e of Marriage. And when the <HI>Jews</HI> did mix in Marriage with other People, they corrupted them, and drew them from God, and kindled his Anger again&s;t them, as you may &s;ee, <HI>Numb.</HI> 25. where the young men took the Daughters of <HI>Moab,</HI> which kindled Gods anger, and many of them died, and a great breach was made till <HI>Phinehas</HI> &s;tood in the Gap, and &s;topped tho&s;e proceedings, and turned away Gods Wrath; and the&s;e went from Gods Ordinance and from Gods Joining, and went from the good example of their Fathers, <HI>Abraham, I&s;aac</HI> and
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<HI>Jacob.</HI> And you may &s;ee that <HI>Solomon</HI> a wi&s;e King, his ta|king of Strangers turned his Heart to wor&s;hip Idols, for which the Lord rent the Kingdom from him, only left him a Lamp in <HI>I&s;rael</HI> for <HI>David</HI> his Fathers &s;ake: And you may &s;ee in all the Pa&s;&s;ages of the <HI>Jews</HI> revolting from God, for the mo&s;t part, the chief rea&s;on was their matching in Marriage with other People, as in <HI>Nehemiah</HI> and <HI>Ezra,</HI> where you may &s;ee the <HI>Jews</HI> had taken Strangers of the Daughters of <HI>A&s;hdod,</HI> which grieved the Lord and his Servants <HI>Ezra</HI> and <HI>Nehemiah:</HI> So here you &s;ee they went from Gods Ordinance and Gods Joyning. And the Apo&s;tle &s;aith to the Church, be not une|qually yoked, a Believer with an Unbeliever, he accounts it as Light and Darkne&s;s, as Chri&s;t and Belial, as the Temple of God and Idols, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. for Believers in the Light of Chri&s;t Je&s;us are the Called of God, and the Seed of <HI>Abraham,</HI> and the Temple of God, and his Sons and Daughters, and are Heirs of the Promi&s;e in the New Covenant, and are <HI>Jews</HI> in Spirit, and have the Circumci&s;ion of the Spirit made with|out Hands, and are under the Law of the New Covenant which God hath written in their Hearts; and &s;uch cannot Join to give or take in Marriage, with any Sect or &s;ort of Per&s;ons or People that believe not in the Light of Chri&s;t Je|&s;us, with which he hath enlightned every Man that comes into the World; nor believe not in the Grace of God, but turn it into Wantonne&s;s; nor in the Law of the New Cove|nant which is written in the Heart according to Gods Pro|mi&s;e: And do not wor&s;hip God in Spirit, but in &s;ome form, without the Power of God; neither have received the Cir|cumci&s;ion of the Spirit to circumci&s;e their Hearts and Ears, &s;uch the Seed of <HI>Abraham</HI> mu&s;t not Join with in Affinity of Marriage, nor take their Daughters to their Sons, nor give their Daughters to their Sons; for you &s;ee it is contrary to Gods Ordinance, and contrary to the Spirit of <HI>Abraham,</HI>
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<HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob,</HI> which were great Fathers and Patterns; and all the true Believers in Chri&s;t Je&s;us are to follow their &s;teps in the New Covenant, and will charge their Sons and Daugh|ters that they joyn not in Marriage with any, but among&s;t their own People, that are Wor&s;hipers of God in Spirit, and Children of &s;uch Believers as be of Faith and Society with them, in the Wor&s;hip and Service of God; and &s;uch Chil|dren as fear God, and are reverent and obedient to Parents, which all are obliged to by the Law of the fir&s;t Covenant, and by the Law of Chri&s;t Je&s;us, and by the Doctrine of the Apo&s;tles; I &s;ay &s;uch Children will keep their Parents Charge as <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob</HI> did, and not grieve and vex their Parents as <HI>E&s;au</HI> did his Father and his Mother, in marrying with the Daughters of Strangers: for &s;uch Parents as are of <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Rebekah</HI>'s Spirit are much concerned in this Ca&s;e, and cannot but grieve when their Children joyn in Marriage with &s;uch as are before mentioned, and give away their believing Parents part that they have in them, to the World; which makes Confu&s;ion, and grieves God's good Spirit, and &s;mites their Parents with Grief, and &s;uch as &s;mote Father and Mother in the time of the Law were to die, <HI>Exod.</HI> 21. 15. for Parents have a great Power and part in their Children, as in <HI>Numb.</HI> 30. 3, 4, 5. If a Daughter in her Fathers Hou&s;e unmarried make a Vow or Promi&s;e, her Father hath power to break it or e&s;tab|li&s;h it: and you may &s;ee, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 3. &amp; <HI>chap.</HI> old <HI>Eli</HI> did not u&s;e his Power to re&s;train his two Sons from their Wickedne&s;s, for which the Lord cut off the Arm of <HI>Eli,</HI> cut off his Fami|ly from the Prie&s;thood; and Believers are a Royal Prie&s;thood to offer to God &s;piritual Sacrifices. So they are to u&s;e their utmo&s;t Endeavours to re&s;train their Children from running into the World, which lies in Wickedne&s;s; or into their Fa|&s;hions or Familiarity, which often doth great hurt, as <HI>Jacob</HI>'s Daughter, in vi&s;iting the Daughters of the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI>
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was defiled: So Friends are to be careful to watch over their Children, for their pre&s;ervation from tho&s;e things which Youth is prone to fall into to their great hurt; for we were but a few at the fir&s;t when God called and cho&s;e us to be his People; and now there is a young Generation &s;prung up of young Men and Women, many of them &s;prung from the Loins of true Believers, and many of them runs into the Pride and Fa&s;hions of the World, and take Wives and Husbands of the World, and go to the Teachers of the World to be mar|ried; and &s;o go from Gods Ordinance and Gods Joining: And men of the World &s;ee that Friends are a thriving People in their outward Sub&s;tance, which makes them &s;eek after Friends Children to marry with them: And &s;ome Friends, when their Rebellious Children have &s;o done, (through Indul|gence and Affection to their Children, more than the publick good) have given them Portions: And this encourageth the World to &s;eek Friends Children in Marriage, and encourageth wanton Children to con&s;ent to them, by which means a breach is made upon our Youth, to the wounding and grieving the Spirits of the Faithful that are <HI>Abrahams</HI> Children, and are of the &s;ame mind with <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Rebekah,</HI> and cannot give their Children in marriage to other People upon any account: But are willing to give their Children the &s;ame liberty as the Elders of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> did to the Daughters of <HI>Zelophehad,</HI> who might marry to whom they plea&s;ed in their own Tribe. So Friends mu&s;t u&s;e their godly endeavours, according to the ut|mo&s;t of their Power, to &s;top the gap of &s;uch proceedings that their Arm be not cut off as old <HI>Eli</HI>'s was. And you may &s;ee before the Flood, when the Sons of God married with the Daughters of Men, how it grieved God. And is it not all one when Friends marry with other People, and &s;ome Friends Children are &s;urprized and hurt and &s;poiled, their Parents al|lowing them to go into the Finery and Fa&s;hions of the World,
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and to vi&s;it and company with proud People, as <HI>Jacob</HI>'s Daugh|ter did with the Daughters of <HI>Canaan,</HI> by which opportunity &s;he was en&s;nared. So Friends are to prevent &s;uch things to the utmo&s;t of their Power, and &s;top the breach that is made upon us by the&s;e things, that you may inherit <HI>Phinehas</HI>'s Por|tion, an everla&s;ting Prie&s;thood in Chri&s;t our High-Prie&s;t, and the Covenant of Peace in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, in whom there is Peace, which is the de&s;ire of your true Friend. <HI>W. E.</HI></P>
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<HEAD>The aforegoing Paper was read in the Men and Womens Meet|ings, being a&s;&s;embled together in a weighty Sence of Truth, and Friends having good &V;nity with it, have added thereto the fol|lowing Te&s;timony.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Dear Friends every where in this Nation, and el&s;ewhere,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P><HI>WE being met together in the Name and Fear of the Lord, and his Pre&s;ence and Power being with us; it was repre&s;ented by &s;everal Friends, and that under a weight and burden of Spirit, that of late great hurt hath happened among Friends, through &s;everal young People going to the Prie&s;t to be married, and taking Husbands and Wives among the World, which hath been &s;ometimes occa&s;ioned through too much Indulgence of Parents towards their Children, and &s;ometimes through the &s;tubbornne&s;s of Children towards their Parents, and not hearkning to their Coun&s;el.</HI></P>
<P>Now Friends, <HI>the Lord having e&s;tabli&s;hed it as a Principle, that tho&s;e that profe&s;s his everla&s;ting Truth, &s;hould neither go to a Prie&s;t to be married, nor take Husbands or Wives from among the World, that are not of us; it fell weighty upon Friends to con&s;ider of &s;ome way according to the Truth, as much as in them lay, to endeavour to prevent &s;uch Practi|ces for the future: And in order thereunto, after a &s;erious de|bate and &s;everal weighty Te&s;timonies in that ca&s;e (both of</HI>
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<HI>Men and Women) Friends concluded on the following Ad|vi&s;e and Coun&s;el; de&s;iring that Friends in their re&s;pective pla|ces and &s;tations will in diligence put it in practice.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> That all Parents, both Men and Women, take care to educate their Children in the awe and fear of the Lord, according to the Principles of the ble&s;&s;ed Truth, taking care to re&s;train them from &s;uch Company and Acquaintance that may allure them from the way of Truth, into the Vanity of the World; and likewi&s;e to re&s;train them in any other things that may have a tendency to draw their Minds from the fear of the Lord, and from the &s;ence of his ble&s;&s;ed Truth: That &s;o through the &s;ence of the Truth in them&s;elves, it may &s;o ballance their natural Affections, that they may rightly &s;ee the &s;tates and conditions of their Children, as to give that whol&s;ome Advice and Coun&s;el that may an&s;wer the Wit|ne&s;s of God in them.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> If any Friends do perceive that their Children are under &s;uch a Temptation, as to go to a Prie&s;t to be married, or to take one of the World to Husband or Wife; if they will not hear that coun&s;el and advice, which in the fear of the Lord they give them; then let them inform Friends, that they may deal with them in the order of the Go&s;pel, that &s;o, if po&s;&s;ible, they may be pre&s;er|ved out of the &s;nare, or the greater weight of Judgment may be laid on them by their Parents in particular, and Friends in general.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> If notwith&s;tanding the advice and coun&s;el of Parents and Friends, any young People do fall into the aforementioned evils; we de&s;ire and advi&s;e all Parents to keep very &s;trictly to the principle of Truth in them&s;elves, in their conduct towards their Children, which we believe will re&s;train them from pa&s;&s;ing by that act of great Di&s;obedience unto them&s;elves in particular, and the Lord and his Truth in general, until &s;uch time that Friends, through their true Repentance receive them into &V;nity again: And further, we believe that it will be&s;t an&s;wer the Truth, for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">arents to withhold giving &s;uch di&s;obedient Children any out|ward
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Portion, until &s;uch time they be reconciled to Truth and Friends as afore&s;aid; for the withholding that may be in&s;trumental to cau&s;e them to enter into a con&s;ideration of their Di&s;obedience to the Lord and their Parents, from whence true Repentance may &s;pring, and not only &s;o, but it may be an occa&s;ion to prevent others from falling into the &s;ame Snare, and may put a &s;top to &s;ome of the World in &s;eeking after our Children on that account.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> We do de&s;ire that Friends in every place will have &s;uch a watchful Eye over one another in the fear of the Lord, that if they &s;ee any Parents negligent in their duty, by too much in|dulging their Children in tho&s;e things that Truth doth not allow, that they admoni&s;h them of it in the Love of God, and Sence of Truth, that &s;o things may be kept well among&s;t us.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> As in the weighty Sence of the ble&s;&s;ed Truth we have given our advice and coun&s;el in this particular. So in the &s;ame Sence we advi&s;e and coun&s;el Friends in the general, that in all things they walk as becomes the Go&s;pel, taking heed that in no re|&s;pect they give way to any liberty which the Truth doth not allow of; for that is &s;o far from the true Chri&s;tian liberty that it hath a tendency to imbondage the Soul again, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aid, <HI>Hold fa&s;t the Liberty wherewith Chri&s;t hath made you Free, and be no more entangled with the Yoak of Bondage.</HI> And as the Lord hath &s;et Limits and Bounds in his Truth, our pre&s;er|vation doth con&s;i&s;t in keeping within the bounds of it; in which we may expect the Ble&s;&s;ings and Mercies of the Lord to re&s;t upon us, and to be multiplied unto us and our Children, to the Prai&s;e of his Name for ever.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Given forth at the National Men and Womens Meetings, A&s;&s;embled together in</HI> Dublin <DATE><HI>the</HI> 10th <HI>day of the Third Month,</HI> 1680.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Signed in behalf of the &s;aid Meetings, By</HI> Alexander Se<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>THE END.</TRAILER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<P><PB REF="7" MS="y">
AN EPISTLE FOR <HI>True Love, Unity</HI> AND ORDER IN THE Church of Chri&s;t. Again&s;t the <HI>Spirit</HI> of <HI>Di&s;cord, Di&s;order</HI> and <HI>Confu&s;ion, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Recommended to Friends in Truth, chiefly for the &s;ake of the Weak and Un&s;table Minded, for Information and Encouragement in our <HI>Chri&s;tian &V;nity</HI> and <HI>Society,</HI> held in the Spirit of Chri&s;t, both in Faith and Practice.</P>
<P><HI>By Two Servants of the Church, according to our Mea&s;ures, Anne Whitehead, Mary El&s;on.</HI></P>
<P><HI>But God hath tempered the Body together&mdash;that there &s;hould be</HI> No SCHISME <HI>in the Body, but that the Members &s;hould have the</HI> SAME CARE <HI>one for another,</HI> 1 Cor. 12.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed and Sold by <HI>Andrew Sowle</HI> at the Crooked-Billet in <HI>Holloway-Lane,</HI> near <HI>Shoreditch.</HI></P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<P><PB N="8" REF="8" MS="y">
<GAP DESC="missing" EXTENT="1+ pages"> in their own Wills, adventuring the E&s;tates of others without their knowledge or con&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">nt; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">hen they them|&s;elves knows well enough <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> if th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> Adventures fail, their Security mu&s;t fail <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> how many Wid|dows and Orphans, Old and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> are there oppre&s;&s;ed and wronged by the&s;e things&punc; Doth not &s;uch think and believe that the Want, Poverty, and Cry of the&s;e will bring down Vengean<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> the Righteous God? or think they not, that God will vi&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">or the&s;e things for his pretious Truth and Names <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">ke, and for the Cry of the Opre&s;&s;ed? yea, a&s;&s;uredly he will plead their Cau&s;e, and will disburthen and clear his Truth and People of them, &amp; their unrighteous Deeds together.</P>
<P>Is it not our duty, both Old and Young, to &s;et our Affairs in &s;uch a po&s;ture, as that we may be out of danger that any Body &s;hould &s;uffer by us, while we in the mean time only aim at our own profit &amp; advantage. Oh, let the Truth here be judge, and then I know the Elder Friends will labour to quit them&s;elves in this matter, and &s;o have power to put a &s;top and bridle to &s;uch young Ones as takes this cour&s;e, or el&s;e the peril and reproach of both will lie at their Door in a great mea&s;ure. Oh! that a holy Zeal may increa&s;e in ma|ny Hearts for the removing of this great Evil, and let go the eager de&s;ire of great profit; and every one to be content with his own, and &s;erve the Lord and his Truth therewith according to his Ability. (and if he plea&s;e, he will increa&s;e it) And take care of the youn|ger &s;ort, and become good Examples to them in this matter, that the &s;tink of offences in this kind may be &s;topped, and the Truth of God may pro&s;per and flow|ri&s;h more and more, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Colche&s;ter</HI> <DATE><HI>the 29th of the 9th Mon.</HI> 1677.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Geertruyd Derik Nie&s;en.</SIGNED>
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