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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<HEAD>A relation of the commitment and long unju&s;t Impri&s;on|ment, of <HI>James Potter,</HI> in the Common Jayle at <HI>Winche&s;ter,</HI> with the impri|&s;oning of his Si&s;ter <HI>Ann Potter</HI> for Tythe, by <HI>Edward Bental</HI> Prie&s;t of <HI>Bag|hur&s;t,</HI> and the taking away of her brother <HI>Richard Potters</HI> goods for the &s;ame Tythe, for which he impri&s;oned her.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Al&s;o the impri&s;oning of <HI>Elizabeth Streeter,</HI> with two of her Husbands &s;ervants, occa&s;ioned by <HI>Iohn Corbet</HI> Prie&s;t of <HI>Bram&s;hot.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">With a few words to all, e&s;pecially to the inhabitants of <HI>Baghur&s;t</HI> and <HI>Bram&s;hot,</HI> to turn from tho&s;e covetous hirelings which have long deceived the, &amp; return unto the Lord, and hearken to, obey and follow the Light of Chri&s;t: given to lead them out of the waies of darkne&s;s, &s;in and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, that re|demption and re&s;toration to life, they may come to know, and witne&s;s.</HEAD>
<P><HI>James Potter.</HI></P>
<P>THe Lord is my witne&s;s that what I have herein written, is not in envy to the per&s;on of any man, neither is it in revenge becau&s;e of what I have &s;uffered by any per&s;on herein mentioned, who have learned not to render evil for evil; but for the pretious truths &s;ake for which I &s;uffer, (for which my life is not dear unto me) and that the &s;imple hone&s;t de&s;ires in any may not be betrayed, through the &s;ubtilty of &s;uch who make lies their refuge, and with deceit and fal&s;ehood, do &s;eek to cover them|&s;elves, that their wickedne&s;s in per&s;ecuting the Servants of God, may not ap|pear before the eyes of the people, accu&s;ing them to be the cau&s;e of their long unju&s;t impri&s;onments, pretending law and Ju&s;tice, when the law is ca&s;t behind their backs, and the ju&s;t &s;uffers by them both within and without; who&s;e one wills hath been their law, for mo&s;t of their actions again&s;t the &s;ervants of Chri&s;t the &s;eed of enmity ruling in them, by which they are led, to per&s;ecute, impri&s;on, and act &s;uch cruelty and tyranny upon them, that the like in former ages hath not been heard of.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t as concerning my own impri&s;onment let the Reader im|partially con&s;ider, and in the Light of the Son of God the ju&s;t and equal bal|lance, weigh and try the ground and cau&s;e of it, when I was in the vain con|ver&s;ation in the liberty of the fle&s;h, &s;pending my pretious time in vain &s;ports and delights, by which the innocent principle of God in me was kept in bondage, and much wickedne&s;s committed, and the Lord greatly di&s;honoured, I &s;ay when I was in that State and condition unreconciled to God, in the fallen nature, where all the world are, with whom I had my conver&s;ation, I had then the love of the world, and the prai&s;e and e&s;timation among&s;t men: and for all my acti|ons in that &s;tate and condition, whiles I could bow to deceit, re&s;pect per&s;ons, and give flattering titles, and follow and uphold the covetous greedy hirelings, by which the &s;implicity in me was long betrayed; I was never &s;o much as que|&s;tioned by any ruler what&s;oever, but &s;o &s;oon as it plea&s;ed the Lord in his ever|la&s;ting love, to call me out of that conver&s;ation (wherein I had walked) by the light of his Son, which had from a child judged and condemned me for unrigh|teou&s;ne&s;s; often bringing fear and trouble upon me, when I walked in di&s;obe|dience, to what I was by it convinced to be evil, and to turn from the covetous hirelings, which I &s;aw in the Light to be deceivers and de&s;troyers of the &s;ouls of people, then I began to &s;uffer, how did the &s;ea then rage, and ca&s;t up mire and dirt? what abominable lyes, &s;landers, and fal&s;e reports, were vented forth again&s;t|me, crying as it were in the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah</HI>'s dayes, report and we will re|port,
<PB N="2" REF="2">both Prie&s;t and Ju&s;tice, by whom I was impri&s;oned, joyning with the re&s;t of the reporters, to make truth and me odious, by wicked &s;landers, and fal&s;e ac|cu&s;ations, and to &s;top the farther &s;preading of truth, our meetings were forbid|den by <HI>William Wither,</HI> that we &s;hould not meet together to &s;eek the Lord, at my fathers hou&s;e nor at any other place with in the pari&s;h of <HI>B<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ghur&s;t,</HI> but his com|mand being not obeyed, he &s;ent a Warrant, <HI>Richard King&s;mill</HI> al&s;o joyning with him, wherein was al&s;o &s;everall fal&s;e accu&s;ations again&s;t me and the people of the Lord; forbidding again our meetings, pretending &s;u&s;pition, and that the end of our meetings was by armes and force to a&s;&s;ault, and invade their lives, or live|ly hoods having cau&s;e or rather forced a man fal&s;ly to &s;wear again&s;t me, with &s;everal things of the &s;ame nature, from the &s;ame root of enmity in them again&s;t the &s;eed and people of God, but their principal thing again&s;t me was for reading a paper in the &s;teeplehou&s;e: in which al&s;o I was fal&s;ly accu&s;ed that I had made open &amp; publike di&s;turbance to the pari&s;h Mini&s;ter (&s;o called) and his doctrine, which many there pre&s;ent can witne&s;s to be fal&s;e, for I &s;aid nothing of his do|ctrine neither did I di&s;turb him, but &s;ate down peaceably in the place untill he had ended, &amp; then read the paper to the people, the hireling going away not likeing to hear the truth therein declared again&s;t him; and then to cover their fal&s;e accu&s;ation, being asked by one of the (pari&s;h as the man him&s;elf infor|med me) why he did complain that I did di&s;turb him, when as &s;o many could witne&s;s it was no &s;uch thing, he &s;aid that he was di&s;turbed in &s;pirit, but that will not cover their fal&s;e accu&s;ation which was that I had made open and publike di&s;turbance to him &amp; his doctrine as afore written: and if he were a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t (as he would have people believe) and had received that peace which Chri&s;t gave to his Di&s;ciples <HI>Ioh.</HI> 14.27. he could not have been di&s;turbed in &s;pirit, but the prie&s;t hath herein &s;hewed th this &s;pirit is of the Divel, and of the world (wherein is the trouble) &amp; not of Chri&s;t (wherein is peace) that was di|&s;turbed by the &s;ight of a man, coming in peaceably among them, or for the rea|ding a paper in &s;oberne&s;s and the fear of the Lord.</P>
<P>So the warrant being &s;erved on me, I pa&s;&s;ed with the Officer to <HI>Willi. Withers</HI> hou&s;e but becau&s;e I had not brought &s;ome to be bound with me for the good be|haviour, &amp; to &s;uch things wherein he might have en&s;nared me, &amp; have cau&s;ed the living truth of God to &s;uffer, he would not &s;uffer me to come before him, to an&s;wer to any thing of which I was accu&s;ed, but was in a pa&s;&s;ion as him&s;elf ac|knowledged, &amp; &s;o &s;hewed him&s;elf to be of the &s;ame &s;pirit with the prie&s;t that was di&s;turbed, &amp; this &s;pirit could never the &s;ervants of God obey, but alwaies te&s;tified again&s;t, both in Rulars, Prie&s;ts, and people; and &s;o by it hath alwaies &s;uffered as the Scriptures of truth doth witne&s;s.</P>
<P>So &s;hortly after, by the &s;ame warrant, I was had to the Common Jayle at <HI>Winche&s;ter,</HI> &amp; delivered into the hands of the Jaylor to be kept a pri&s;oner among&s;t Thieves, Murtherers, and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, &amp; at the A&s;&s;i&s;es following with the &s;ame company among&s;t whom I had been kept, I was had to the Bar to receive my tryal as was pretended, but then did none openly appear in Court, or to my face, to witne&s;s the things whereof they had accu&s;ed me, but becau&s;e I could not bow to proud <HI>Hamon's</HI> &s;pirit in Judge <HI>Nicholas</HI> that wicked man, in putting off my hat, I was by him fined 5 <HI>l.</HI> and returned again to pri&s;on: for which wickedne&s;s by that unju&s;t judge acted again&s;t me, was demanded above 40. s. fees for his Clarks and others belonging to his Court, be&s;ides the Jaylors fees. So becau&s;e I cannot obey his unrighteous decree acted by him in the power of darkne&s;s, through envy
<PB N="3" REF="2">again&s;t the living truth of God, &amp; me his &s;ervant, nor uphold &s;uch tyranny ex|tortion, and oppre&s;&s;ion, but &s;tand a witne&s;s for the Lord again&s;t it; I have been ever &s;ince kept pri&s;oner, before and &s;ince the &s;aid A&s;&s;i&s;es, for the time of 2 years, in an na&s;ty &s;tinking unwhole&s;ome place, where through the mercy of the Lord, my life hath been pre&s;erved, having been often &s;ick, to the much weakning and decaying of my outward body, being &s;ometime near unto death, but the Lord is with me by who&s;e power I have been pre&s;erved, who is pleading the cau&s;e of his people again&s;t the oppre&s;&s;our, who hath and will overturn until righteou&s;|ne&s;s be &s;et up in the earth, and the bea&s;t and the fal&s;e Prophet (which hath made war with the Saints, which all the world is wor&s;hipping and wondring after) receive their portion in the lake of fire, which is the &s;econd death.</P>
<P>And as I by lies and fal&s;e accu&s;ations was ca&s;t into pri&s;on, &s;o the &s;ame lyes hath been made u&s;e of to keep me in pri&s;on, for when my impri&s;onment have been enquired into by &s;uch who were then in power, then hath the fal&s;e accu|&s;ations recorded in the warrant been returned again&s;t me, &amp; much more as un|true and never proved, and farther it may be con&s;idered, that whereas I was ca&s;t into pri&s;on (through the complaint of Prie&s;t <HI>Bental</HI>) who had broken no law, there being then no law again&s;t any that &s;hould &s;peak in their &s;teeple hou&s;es, but onely &s;uch as &s;hould &s;peak in the time of the prie&s;ts &s;peaking, the which I did not, but &s;tayed till he had ended his divination, before I &s;pake or read any thing, &s;o the prie&s;t contrary to the law of the land, (which gives liberty to all that pro|fe&s;s faith in Chri&s;t to meet together and not to be hindred by any, cau&s;ed 3 Bay|liffs, wicked per&s;ons to enter into <HI>Rich. Potters</HI> hou&s;e in the time of their meeting, and arre&s;ted my &s;i&s;ter <HI>Ann Potter</HI> and 2 more, by which means the &s;aid <HI>Ann Pot|ter</HI> was ca&s;t into pri&s;on becau&s;e &s;he could not for con&s;cience &s;ake pay Tyth, to up|hold this covetous hireling, to deceive &amp; to de&s;troy the &s;ouls of people, who&s;e fruits makes him manife&s;t to be one of the fal&s;e Prophets that Chri&s;t bids be|ware of, a ravening wolf, in &s;heep cloathing, thorns &amp; thi&s;tles being the fruit brought forth by him, as may plainly appear, to all the &s;ober minded, by what is herein written.</P>
<P>Having thus ca&s;t the &s;aid <HI>Ann Potter</HI> into pri&s;on, he proceeds on in his wicked practi&s;es, and cau&s;eth &s;omething to be drawn, as if he had an order out of the <HI>Chainy Court,</HI> with <HI>Francis Rivets</HI> name to it, who is judge of the Court, by which he cau&s;ed another mo&s;t de&s;perate wicked per&s;on, to enter into <HI>Rich. Pot|ters</HI> hou&s;e, and take away his goods; the &s;aid <HI>Rich.</HI> &s;hortly coming to <HI>Win|che&s;ter</HI> pri&s;on to me, I with him went to <HI>Francis Rivet,</HI> (he being at that time at the Court afore written) and laid before him what the prie&s;t had cau&s;ed to be committed, (to wit) the taking away of <HI>Rich. Potters</HI> goods) and told him that his name was written to their pretended order, but he denyed the action, &amp; &s;aid it was done unknown to him, and much blamed the Prie&s;ts Attorney one <HI>Ed|ward Harfield</HI> of <HI>Winhe&s;ter,</HI> who &s;aid the prie&s;t had given the Court Bond to &s;ave them harmele&s;s but <HI>Francis Rivet</HI> &s;aid it was very unju&s;t and contrary to the Law, and &s;aid that he would examine the matter, and would &s;top their procee|dings, and &s;ince, &s;aid he had taken order to make them return the goods, the which was not performed.</P>
<P>But the prie&s;t after all this, having gotten &s;omething in writing from the &s;aid Court again&s;t <HI>Ann Poter</HI> for the tith demanded, &amp; for which &s;he was impri&s;oned, he forthwith him&s;elf &amp; his wife &amp; 2 of his &s;ons, with 3 more like a party of plun|pering &s;ouldiers, or as a troop of robbers, <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 6. entred into my brother <HI>Rich. Pot|ers</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="3">back&s;ide when he was from home, &amp; hove a gate off the hooks and took away of the &s;aid <HI>Rich.</HI> cattel, three cowes, &amp; one calfe, and two heifers, which after were valued at 17 l. vvhen as the tith demanded of <HI>Ann Potter</HI> vvas valued by the prie&s;ts Tenant, vvho did rent the par&s;onage (&s;o called) but at 5 l. vvho al&s;o for his ovvn ends overvalued it, near or altogether at tvvice the rate, thereabouts do &s;ell for.</P>
<P>And yet the prie&s;t like one of tho&s;e greedy dumb dogs, that can never have enough, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 56. vvas not &s;atisfied, for &s;ome of them &s;aid that the cattle which they had taken vvould not &s;atisfie them, &amp; would have gone into the &s;table to have ta|ken a hor&s;e and into the dvvelling hou&s;e for other goods (the doors being lockt) &amp; vvhen they went avvay &s;aid it vvould be a further charge for they mu&s;t come again.</P>
<P>So the &s;aid <HI>Rich.</HI> coming home on the &s;ame day, vvent to the cattle (vvhere vvas the prie&s;t and his company vvith them and &s;ei&s;ed on them, &s;aying they vvere his, then the chief Bayliff, one <HI>Craduct</HI> of <HI>Winche&s;ter</HI> asked him vvhether he vvould make fellony of it, and &s;aid he vvould go to the Ju&s;tice with him, and then my brother <HI>Rich.</HI> required him &s;o to do, and then he pre&s;ently refu&s;ed, and would not, proving him&s;elf a lyer like his ma&s;ter the prie&s;t; &s;o my brother pa&s;&s;ed to <HI>William Wither</HI> called a Ju&s;tice, and laid the matter before him, who u&s;ed many words to per&s;wade him not to proceed again&s;t them, mentioning the words of Chri&s;t, if any man take thy cloake, let him have thy coat al&s;o, which though that Scripture be owned by us, who can with patience &s;uffer the &s;poy|ling or taking away of his goods, without envy or revenge, yet the law being added becau&s;e of tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and the end of magi&s;tracy being to be a terrour to the evil doer, and a prai&s;e to them that do well, and he being in the place to do Ju&s;tice required Ju&s;tice of him, again&s;t the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors that had taken away his cattle, telling him that he did look on it to be fellony, who at la&s;t told him that if he would take his oath that the goods was his, and that it was felloni|ou&s;ly taken from him, he would give him a warrant to have them brought before him, &s;o becau&s;e he could not go out of the doctrine of Chri&s;t nor break his command to &s;wear, he could have no warrant from him, but came away without.</P>
<P>And now &s;eeing the prie&s;t hath taken away my brothers cattel, pretending to be my &s;i&s;ters, of whom the tithe was demanded, for which he had impri|&s;oned her; this I declare that the cattle taken away by the prie&s;t, and his com|pany, was not my &s;i&s;ters, but as really his own as any penny-worth of goods left him, or the cloathes which he weareth: and this I affirme in the pre&s;ence of God, and to all people who have learned the truth, and dare not lye, nor af|firm that which is not true, though &s;uch things are lightly e&s;teemed by <HI>Edward Bental</HI> prie&s;t, who can &s;ay and un&s;ay, and &s;peak words and when they turn to his &s;hame, deny them again, who &s;aid before many of the Pari&s;h, that if he had thought the par&s;onage of <HI>Baghur&s;t</HI> had not been worth 8 &s;core pound, or 7 &s;core and 10. l. a year, he would not have come thither, and when I told him of it, &amp; charged it again&s;t him at <HI>Winche&s;ter,</HI> he mo&s;t impudently denyed it, and told me that I lyed &s;everal times, &s;o I told him that &s;everal had &s;poken it, and I believe would witne&s;s it, and he told me again that it was a ly &amp; that none would &s;peak it, and two of tho&s;e which I mentioned to him, were <HI>Thomas Smith</HI> and <HI>Rich. Dean,</HI> which I have &s;ince &s;poken with, who &s;till affirmeth it, and others with them, can witne&s;s it to be truth to the prie&s;ts &s;hame, who is a lyer and a denyer of the truth, and &s;o of his father the Divel, who abode not in the truth, but was a lyer from the beginning.</P>
<PB N="5" REF="3">
<P> Notwith&s;tanding the Prie&s;t hath taken away &s;o many cattell, and goods be, &s;ides from my brother, neare if not more then four times the value of the tithe-which he demanded of my &s;i&s;ter, and for which he ca&s;t her in to pri&s;on, yet he can|not afford to pay his &s;ervant <HI>Raynold Wheate</HI> the Keeper of the pri&s;on, whom he imployed in his fathers works of darkne&s;s, (to wit) to keep the &s;ervant of the Lord in pri&s;on for him; but &s;hee is &s;till kept pri&s;oner by the the &s;aid <HI>Raynold Wheate</HI> for thirteen &s;hillings four pence feesb, e&s;ides two pence a day and night he demands for hou&s;eroome (he being a covetous wicked hardened ungodly man) who hath no lodging, nor any thing el&s;e of him, &s;o becau&s;e &s;he cannot give him money for unju&s;tly keeping her &s;elf in pri&s;on, nor uphold &s;uch cur&s;ed covetou&s;ne&s;s, oppre&s;&s;ion, and extortion, &s;hee hath been kept pri&s;oner by him 24. weekes, where &s;he yet remaineth.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Here followeth &s;ome thing of the comitting, and impri&s;oning of two of <HI>Henry Streeters</HI> &s;ervants, and <HI>Elizabeth Streeter</HI> his wife, occa&s;io|ned by <HI>John Corbet</HI> Prie&s;t of <HI>Bram&s;hot.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>Richard Baker</HI> and <HI>William Baker,</HI> two of <HI>Henry Streters</HI> &s;ervants, &s;peaking &s;ome words again&s;t <HI>John Corbet</HI> Prie&s;t of <HI>Bram&s;hot,</HI> (who had cau&s;ed a cow to be ta|ken from <HI>Robert Biddle,</HI> worth, four pound for the tithe of about five or &s;ix Acres of land, for which was never payed above 16s. for which words &s;poken again&s;t this unrighteous action, <HI>John Corbet</HI> procured a warrant, from <HI>John Hook</HI> called Ju&s;tice, where by they were committed to the common Goale at <HI>Win|che&s;ter,</HI> contrary to the Law, and being neither called, nor &s;uffered to appear, (according to their warrant) at neither of two Se&s;&s;ions, nor any of their accu|&s;ers appeared to witne&s;s again&s;t them, at la&s;t were kept in pri&s;on &s;everal weeks by <HI>Francis Rivets</HI> order, judge of the la&s;t Se&s;&s;ions, to make them promi&s;e to go home, who had no home but their ma&s;ters &s;ervice, the which they were unju&s;tly taken out of, and kept in pri&s;on about half a year, their ma&s;ter being not engaged to receive them again, nor they to go to him; three more of the Lords &s;ervants, be|ing then in pri&s;on, which were taken up as they were going about their lawfull callings and imployments, and committed to pri&s;on by <HI>Iohn Bulkley</HI> as wander|ers, having been kept upon the &s;ame account many moneths, to make them promi&s;e to go home, of which more largely hath been declared in print already.</P>
<P>Al&s;o <HI>Henry Streeters</HI> wife <HI>Elizabeth Streeter,</HI> being pa&s;&s;ing on a fir&s;t day of the week, towards a meeting, with &s;everal other friends, and meeting the Prie&s;t, <HI>John Corbet</HI> with his wife and others, as they were pa&s;sing along, about half a mile from the Steeple-Hou&s;e, and &s;ome words pa&s;sing betwixt a friend &amp; <HI>John Corbet,</HI> &s;he al&s;o &s;pake &s;ome words of truth to him, telling him that he was a murtherer, who is one of them that de&s;troyeth &s;oules for di&s;hone&s;t gain, as may appear by his own words, who a little before did acknowledge, that he did &s;in both in pray|ing and preaching, <HI>and the wages of &s;in is death,</HI> (mark) the wages of <HI>John Corbets</HI> praying and preaching,) and all &s;in is of the Devil who was a murtherer from the beginning (mark again but) <HI>J. Corbet,</HI> who &s;ins in his Mini&s;tery, Mini&s;ters from the Devil the root and ground of &s;in, from whence it &s;prings, and &s;o mu&s;t needs murther, and de&s;troy the &s;oules of &s;uch as hear him; for the which words &s;poken by her, <HI>John Corbet</HI> complained that he was di&s;turbed, and procured a warrant for her, from <HI>John Hooke</HI> al&s;o, and at the Se&s;sions following, how much did
<PB N="6" REF="4"><HI>John Hook</HI> and <HI>Robert Ranalds</HI> appear to be the Prie&s;ts &s;ervants, to do his worke and &s;atisfie his will, to impri&s;on the &s;ervant of the Lord; though not any one gave oath, that he was di&s;turbed, or that &s;he &s;pake wilfully or maliciou&s;ly to him, according to that Act, which they pretended they acted by; and when &s;hee laid it on them they &s;aid it needed not, and when the Jury would have &s;tood for her, they put that by, and put them forth and &s;ubjected them to their wills, and <HI>John Champion</HI> Clarke of the Se&s;sions, being ready to &s;erve their wills, and for his own filthy lucre, to make a prey on the innocent, writ &s;omething, and gave into the hand of the foreman of the Jury, yet that did not &s;erve their turn, for when they had &s;o far &s;ubjected him to wrong the innocent, the Lord &s;topt his mouth, that he could not give in his verdict, but as <HI>John Champion</HI> knowing their wills, and what they would have done, &s;tood before him, and another be|hinde him; and told him what he &s;hould &s;ay; &s;o when that was done, &s;he was by <HI>Robert Ranalds</HI> judge of the Se&s;sions fined five pound, &amp; committed to the common goal, from her &s;ucking Child, to be kept in a na&s;ty &s;tinking unwhol&s;ome place, unfitting for man of woman to be kept in, untill &s;he &s;hould pay the &s;aid fine of five pound, and fees al&s;o (as was returned on their Callender,) which is contrary to the &s;aid act al&s;o, (of the prie&s;t had been wilfully di&s;turbed) which is five pound the one halfe for the u&s;e of the protector, and the other half for him that &s;hould &s;ue for it, or el&s;e to be kept for &s;ome time in the hou&s;e of correction not exceed|ing &s;ix moneths.</P>
<P>Al&s;o &s;ince <HI>Elizabeth Streeter</HI> hath been in pri&s;on, her husband hath had his goods twice taken from him by the Prie&s;ts di&s;ciples, who learn of them, fir&s;t, one of his cattell taken away by &s;uch as are called Church-wardens of <HI>Headly</HI> pari&s;h, for ca&s;ting a bell, and mending the Ma&s;&s;e-hou&s;e, and after|ward a hor&s;e harne&s;s, and a harrow, by the Church-wardens of <HI>Bram&s;hot</HI> (&s;o called) as was pretended for mending the Ma&s;&s;e-hou&s;e al&s;o.</P>
<P>Oh ye inhabitants of <HI>Baghur&s;t Bram&s;hot</HI> and others, that are hearing and up|holding the&s;e covetous greedy hirelings, behold your teachers, Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Light of the world &s;aith by their fruits you &s;hall know them, <HI>Do men gather Grapes of Thornes, or figs of Thi&s;tles,</HI> doth not the&s;e their actions proceed from the corrupt tree, that brings forth the evil fruit, behold their families, how doth they go|verne their own hou&s;es, what u&s;e is made of the fruit of your hard labours, by them taken from you; (con&s;ider) doth not they with the re&s;t of their brethren, wa&s;te and con&s;ume the Creatures of God upon their lu&s;ts, covetous oppre&s;&s;ors, de|&s;troyers of the creation, them&s;elves and families, living &s;oftly upon others hard labours, in pride, idlene&s;&s;e, and exce&s;&s;e, are they not &s;uch as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.19. <HI>Who&s;e God is their belly, who&s;e glory is in their &s;hame, who mindes earthly things,</HI> the&s;e are them that many are crying up and running after, and that the Rulers uphold (by ca&s;ting the &s;ervants of God in pri&s;on) calling them Ortho|dox Divines, Godly Mini&s;ters, wicked bla&s;phemy to &s;peak it, O ye rulers are the&s;e men Godly, or Godlike, that are found in the&s;e practi&s;es, did ever any of the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t live in the&s;e things, nay they did not covet any mans &s;ilver or gold, or apparel, <HI>Acts.</HI> 23.20. but preached the Go&s;pel freely, as they had freely received of the Lord, they did not run to carnall Magi&s;trates to up|hold them, nor rend and take away mens goods, as the&s;e deceivers, and their brethren have done, nor receive any thing of any, but what was freely commu|nicated
<PB N="7" REF="4">to them by &s;uch as they freely admini&s;tred the go&s;pel unto, but the&s;e deceivers, and their brethren forcibly taxes it away from &s;uch who recive not of their Mini&s;tery, are they not in the &s;teps of the fal&s;e prophets, and deceivers, that the true prophets, Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles declared again&s;t: Do not they &s;eek their gain from their quarter, like the &s;leepy watch<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">en, and greedy dumb dogs, that the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> declared again&s;t: <HI>J&s;aiah</HI> 56. is it not a common thing for them to run from place to place, to increa&s;e their hire, as the&s;e Prie&s;ts hath done; feeding of the fat, and clothing with the wool, <HI>Ezekiel</HI> 34. &s;peak|ing peace to &s;uch, as put into their mouthes, but &s;uch as put not into their mouthes, prepare war again&s;t them, <HI>Mica.</HI> 3. tear away their goods, and ca&s;t them into pri&s;on, and there keep them until death, as &s;everal in <HI>England</HI> hath been, going in the way of <HI>Caine,</HI> to envy, and to murther, and running greedily after the errour of <HI>Balaam,</HI> who loved the wages of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>Jude</HI> 11.2 <HI>Peter.</HI> 2.15. exceeding in wickedne&s;&s;e, cruelty, and tyranny, all the Hirelings, and fal&s;e Prophets, that we read of in the Scriptures, and all yee that are crying up, and upholding the&s;e wicked Prie&s;ts, and the re&s;t of that generation of painted Serpents, ravening Wolves in &s;heeps clothing, who with good words and fair &s;peeches have long, and are &s;till deceiving you, &s;tealing the good words of the Prophets, Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, and &s;elling it to the peo|ple making the Scriptures given forth from the Spirit of Truth, a cloak to cover their covetous practi&s;es, and ungodline&s;&s;e; adding to it their own private interpretations, meanings, and con&s;tructions, and &s;o wre&s;ting it to their own de&s;truction, and yours al&s;o if you turn not from them, who &s;peak a divina|tion of their hearts, and not from the mouth of the Lord, therefore in the Name and fear of the Lord, I &s;ay unto you, come out from them, and be noe longer led by them, le&s;t you for ever peri&s;h with them, for verily the Lord God is weary of bearing their iniquity, who is now ari&s;en to make inqui&s;ition for the blood of the ju&s;t, that cryeth for vengeance upon their heads; and ve|rily his hand &s;hall not &s;pare, neither &s;hall his eye pitty, untill he hath ta|ken vengeance on them, who hath corrupted the earth, filled it with violence, robbery, cruelty, tyranny, oppre&s;&s;ion, and all unrighteou&s;ne&s;s; who are daily &s;tirring up the Rulers, and as it were en&s;laving them to their corrupt wills, to uphold them in their cur&s;ed practi&s;es, and works of darkne&s;s, by per&s;ecu|ting and ca&s;ting into pri&s;on, the dear &s;ervants and children of the Lord.</P>
<P>Therefore I &s;ay again, come out from them; and be no longer deceived by them, for verily they that partake with them in their &s;ins, (and will not be warned) &s;hall pertake with them of their plagues, which will &s;uddenly come upon them) and turn your mindes to the light of Chri&s;t in you, the faithfull and true witnes which judgeth &amp; condemneth you in &s;ecret, for all your unright|teou&s;ne&s;s, that by it you may be led out of the world, and way<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s of unrigh|ou&s;ne&s;s, to Chri&s;t the Saviour, from whence it comes who is given for a Covenant to the people, for a light to the Gentiles, <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 42.6. Who is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, <HI>John</HI> 1.9. the Prophet that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> wrote of, that who&s;oever &s;hall not hear in all things &s;hould be de&s;troyed, <HI>Deut.</HI> 3. Who is the way to the father, who &s;aith I am the light of the World, he that followeth me &s;hall not walk in darkne&s;&s;e, but &s;hall have the light of life, <HI>John</HI> 8.12. (marke) &s;hall not walk in darkne&s;&s;e, the way out of Darkene&s;&s;e is to follow the light, and this I te&s;tifie in the Name of the Lord, that there is no other way, neither &s;hall you ever come
<PB N="8" REF="5">out of darne&s;&s;e, nor receive power from God to over come your &s;ins, by which you are led captive by the God of the world until you believe in love, obey and follow the light which &s;heweth and di&s;covereth unto you your &s;ins, and judg eth, and condemneth in &s;ecret for them, and will be the eternall condem|nation of all that continue in di&s;obedience unto it, for unto him that is the Light of the world, is all power both in heaven and earth, committed, now therefore bow and bend before him, le&s;t you be for ever con&s;umed by him, feed no longer upon dead words, airy imaginations and carnal conceivings, (of the Saints words given forth from the life) with which your teachers have long deceived you; but returne, hearken, obey, that your &s;oules may live, that the bread of life, and the waters of life you may come to know, and partake of, and be nouri&s;hed by it to life eternall, this is the day of your Vi&s;itation, and &s;alvation, if you will receive it, therefore whiles you have time prize it, trifle away no longer your precious time on that which will peri&s;h; for the Lords Spirit will not alwaies &s;trive with &s;uch as goes on in re|bellion again&s;t him, therefore return unto him, that &s;triveth with you a|gain&s;t your &s;ins, knocking at the door of your hearts to be received, le&s;t the thing that belongs to your eternall peace, be for ever hid from your eyes, and you &s;hut up unto eternall de&s;truction and perdition for ever.</P>
<P>Thus far have I cleared my con&s;cience, which may be a warning unto you, that you take heed how you any longer follow, or uphold tho&s;e, which the Lords hand is tur|ned again&s;t to throw down, and that you return unto the Lord, and hearken to oboy and follow the Light in your con&s;ciences, which is given to lead you out of &s;in and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, who de&s;ires the eternal peace and &s;alvation of all your &s;ouls, that am called of men,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>James Potter.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>Winche&s;ter pri&s;on <DATE>the 18th. of the 3d. month 59.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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<P><HI>LONDON, Printed in the</HI> 4^t^h^. <HI>month</HI> 4^t^h^. <HI>day</HI> for <HI>M.W.</HI> 1659.</P>
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