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<DATE>2014-02-27</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140114.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B23163">
<STC T="W">F1952</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]09822437</BIBNO>
<VID>204512</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD><HI>To both Hou&s;es of Par<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">iament.</HI> Friends, here is a few things for you to take into con&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">ration.</HEAD>
<P N="1">I IN Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Truth dwell, for that pre&s;erves both Go|vernors and Government, and People in Peace</P>
<P N="2">II Let no man that's a Cur&s;er, a Swearer, a Drunkard, hea|dy, high minded, furious, ra&s;h, covetous, and loves gifts and rewards, and re&s;pects per&s;ons, bear Office and Rule; for &s;uch will not be like meek <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> but will bring the wrath of God both upon people and Magi&s;trates as in former Ages hath been &s;een; but &s;et up &s;uch as loves mercy, and do ju&s;tly, walks humbly with God, and hates cove|tou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>Mica</HI> 6. &s;uch God requires, and &s;uch as doth not re&s;pect mens per&s;ons, and are not convinced of the Law as tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, <HI>Jam.</HI> 2.5. And the&s;e will be to the prai&s;e of God, of Government, and Go|vernors, and the&s;e differ from <HI>Pharoah, Herod,</HI> and <HI>Nebuchadnezzar,</HI> that knew not the Kingdom of the mo&s;t High to rule in &s;ons of men; therefore to the witne&s;s of God in you come down to, and con&s;ider of the&s;e things, that the Nations and Dominions may be ruled as a Fa|mily.</P>
<P N="3">III. And let no one be put to death for Cattel, or Money, or any &s;uch outward things, for by the Law of God they was to re&s;tore four|fold, and if they had it not, to be &s;old for their theft; and &s;o let them re&s;tore; and the Apo&s;tle &s;aith in the Go&s;pel, <HI>Let him that &s;tole &s;teal no more, but labor in the thing that's good, &s;o let him live that he may repent:</HI> The&s;e things lay upon me to write to you; and let no man be impri&s;o|ned or per&s;ecuted becau&s;e that for con&s;cience &s;ake they cannot &s;wear, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5. but obeys Chri&s;ts Commands, and the Apo&s;tles Doctrine that &s;aith, <HI>Swear not at all, le&s;t they &s;hould fall into condemnation of the Devil, and evil,</HI> Jam. 5. but &s;peaks Truth, and doth Truth and Ju&s;tice at Yea and Nay in any Places they are put in, or Court, according to Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles Commands, who is our Lord and Ma&s;ter.</P>
<P N="4">IV. And let none be per&s;ecuted becau&s;e they cannot for con&s;cience &s;ake towards God, put off their Hats, and re&s;pect mens per&s;ons, at which many hath been impri&s;oned and fined, which hath been like the Phari&s;ees, a mark of unbelievers, that be from the witne&s;s in them&s;elves, <HI>John</HI> 5. &s;uch as &s;eeks the Honor that's from above only, that will never &s;tain, we would have all to be cloathed with that, and honor all men in the Lord, and have all men in e&s;teem, and &s;ay that they that Rule well in Truth, in Ju&s;tice, and in Righteou&s;ne&s;s, are worthy of double honor; for every one that hath murther in his heart, may give honor with the Hat deceitfully.</P>
<P N="5">V. And let none be per&s;ecuted for not maintaining a Mini&s;try that they know in their Con&s;cience is not of God, which de&s;troys both E|dification and Comfort, quencheth the Spirit, and limiteth the holy One, and de&s;pi&s;eth Prophe&s;ying; that is, if any thing be revealed to another that &s;its by, let the fir&s;t hold his peace; this was order in the true Church; for ye may all prophe&s;ie one by one, and this is accor|ding to the Apo&s;tles Doctrine (which is di&s;order among the contrary) <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.14 and <HI>Peter</HI> &s;aid, <HI>Acts</HI> the &s;econd and <HI>Joel</HI> 2.) that the Lord would powr out his Spirit upon all fle&s;h, and his &s;ons and his daugh|ters &s;hould prophe&s;ie, which many witne&s;s, Glory and honor be to the Lord God for ever. And meek <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aid, he would that all the Lords people were Prophets, and &s;topt and rebuked him that complai|ned of them, <HI>Numbers</HI> 11.29. ver&s;e.</P>
<P N="6">VI. And let none be per&s;ecuted and impri&s;oned for warning Drun|kards, Cur&s;ers, Cheaters, Fighters, and Quarrellers to repent, in Streets, Markets, Cities, and Towns, and to tell them that they be out of the Life of Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles, and &s;hame their profe&s;&s;ion: which Magi&s;trates that be faithful and fearing God &s;hould have kept down the&s;e things, and not have turned their Sword upon the Righ|teous, and men that hath reproved &s;in in their Gates hath been to them a Prey.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider the&s;e things, for it is your time now, and con&s;ider them in your time, that to the Lord God you be faithful and valiant for his Truth upon Earth, keeping to the Light that &s;hines in your Hearts that gives the knowledg of it, 1 <HI>Cor</HI> 2.4. and the Truth in the inward parts which is the &s;tay of the mind, and word in the heart which is to be obeyed and done, in which is the Wi&s;dom that's pure, and from above, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10. and this is th<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> ingrafted word which is able to &s;ave the &s;oul which is immortal, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">nd bring it up to God from whence it came, <HI>Jam.</HI> 1.21. and this w<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters"> be alwaies with you taking heed to it, in Coun&s;el, Wi&s;dom and Ju<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">gment, and it will &s;often, and it will harden if it be not obeyed, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">d they that do not obey it, hurt their own &s;ouls, and they canno<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ay by the te&s;timony of the ingrafted Word that their &s;ouls are &s;ave; and let all your Laws be drawn up into a &s;hort volume that every<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ne in the Nation may know them, and the end of them, that they ma<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> not di&s;tract people about Opinions of them, but that all may know <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">e full Law and its end; for many men not knowing of them puts i<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> to others to do for them, not knowing them them&s;elves, and &s;o come to be overthrown and undone and great charges, which if things were <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">hort, it would prevent this, that every one might know it.</P>
<P>And let all Writs, Indictme<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ts, Warrants and Mittimu&s;&s;es, have no more in them than can ju&s;tly <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">e charged upon people, and that's the way to keep things &s;weet and whol&s;om; and if tho&s;e things were loo|ked into you would &s;ee abund<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">nce more in them than needs be put in; which grives the hearts of the <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">imple and righteous.</P>
<P>And let none be per&s;ecute<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> about the word <HI>Thou</HI> to a particular per&s;on, as many have been b<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> them that takes more honor and wor|&s;hip to them&s;elves than they g<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">e to God, who &s;aith <HI>Thou</HI> and <HI>Thee</HI> to God.</P>
<P>And let no Pri&s;oners lie lon<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> in Goal, but let them come &s;peedily to tryal, for they learn badne&s;s <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ne of another, and let none keep Goals but &s;ober men that they may b<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> patterns and examples of good to Pri|&s;oners.</P>
<P>And let none keep Ale-hou&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> or Taverns but whol&s;om people, and &s;uch as fears God, and are able to lodg Travellers, that there may be no bad hou&s;es to nouri&s;h wick<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">dne&s;s, which grieves the Souls of the Righteous.</P>
<P>And let all things be done i<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> Love, that keeps down the Spirit of Strife, where the vain gloryi<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">g is; and mind the Law of God and the Go&s;pel, and let your actions be accordingly, that all your Dominions may be as a Family, and rul<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">d in mercy, Truth and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and that e&s;tabli&s;hes Rulers an<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> People in Peace.</P>
<P>And let no one be per&s;ecut<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">d about Church-wor&s;hip, and Religion; for Chri&s;t rebuked Per&s;ecutor, and &s;uch as would revenge, and told them that he came to &s;ave mens lives; and the Apo&s;tles weapons was not carnal but &s;piritual, that <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">hey wra&s;tled with about Religion; Now mind them that wra&s;tle with f<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;h and blood, whether the&s;e be &s;piritual weaponed men as was the Apo<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">tle and have the mind of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Now &s;uch as will invent Forms and Wor&s;hips, and &s;et them up, and compel others to bow unto t<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">em, mind and con&s;ider, and take heed of &s;uch and that; for Chri&s;t h<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">th &s;hewed how people may wor&s;hip God, and in what, <HI>John</HI> 4.</P>
<P>And they that fears the Lord, and meets often together, and &s;peaks often one to another, which are his Jewels <HI>Malachy</HI> 3. be tender to &s;uch as you tender your &s;ouls, for the Lord God hath reproved many for harming his Prophets, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 105.</P>
<P>And let no one be per&s;ecuted for wor&s;hiping God in Spirit and Truth; for Chri&s;t &s;aid to the woman of <HI>Samaria,</HI> neither at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> nor at this Mountain, but they that wor&s;hip the Father mu&s;t wor&s;hip him in Spirit and in Truth, for he &s;eeks &s;uch to wor&s;hip him; and the hour was come, and now is.</P>
<P>For <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> and the Mountain was places to which they came for to wor&s;hip out of many Nations, and therefore the Jews per&s;ecuted the Chri&s;tians that came off their Wor&s;hip, and Temple, and Prie&s;t|hood, and witne&s;&s;ed Chri&s;t the Everla&s;ting Prie&s;t-hood, and the one Offering that ended all the other Offerings, and they that received him their bodies was the Temples of God and Chri&s;t; and all Chri&s;ten|dom about their Wor&s;hip is on heaps, they not being in the Spirit and the Truth in which is the Unity, in which Spirit and Truth the God of all Truth who is a Spirit is wor&s;hiped.</P>
<P>From a lover of your Souls and eternal good, and that Righteou&s;|ne&s;s and Truth may be e&s;tabli&s;hed among you.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>G F.</HI> a Pri&s;oner in <HI>Lanca&s;ter</HI> Ca&s;tle.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>Thomas Simmons,</HI> at the Sign of the <HI>Bull</HI> and <HI>Mouth,</HI> neer Alder&s;gate, 1660.</P>
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