<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2013-12-20</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B131116.pdcc.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B23169">
<STC T="W">F1963</STC>
<STC T="G">4105.de.2[3]</STC>
<STC T="C">R28014</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99889526</BIBNO>
<VID>193569</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>TO THOSE That have been formerly in AUTHORITY, And have broken COVENANT WITH God &amp; Man.</P>
<P>By <HI>G. F.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Robert Wil&s;on,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his Shop, at the Sign of the <HI>Black-Spread-Eagle</HI> and <HI>Windmill in Martins le Grand.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>To Tho&s;e that have been in Authority, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Friends,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>NOw are the <HI>Prophe&s;ies</HI> fulfilled and fulfilling upon you, which was &s;poken to you by the People of God, in your <HI>Courts,</HI> in your <HI>Steeple-Hou&s;es,</HI> in your <HI>Towns, Cities, Markets, High-ways,</HI> and at your <HI>Fea&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Plea&s;ures,</HI> when you were at your height of Au|thority, &amp; in your Highne&s;&s;e, and puft up that you would nei|ther hear God nor man, though rai&s;ed up from a mean E&s;tate; none to come nigh you without bowing, or the re&s;pect of per|&s;ons; and were in the worlds way, Complements, and Fa&s;hions, and &s;et down at ea&s;e in the &s;poyle of your enemies: Which for Con&s;cience &s;ake toward God they could not go into, which they were Redeemed from: Therefore, they were by you hated for that cau&s;e, but now you may con&s;ider the thing is come upon you, which we told you of; who exalted your &s;elves a|bove your Brethren, and threw the ju&s;t and harmle&s;s from a|mong you, until at la&s;t God hath thrown you out; and when you ca&s;t the innocent out from among you, then you fell abi|ting one at another, until you were con&s;umed one of another; and &s;o the day is come upon you, which before to you was told, though before you would not believe it. And is not your hearts &s;o hardened that you will hardly yet believe, though in captivity? and was it not told you (when you &s;pilt the blood of the Innocent, in your <HI>Steeple-Hou&s;es,</HI> in your <HI>Markets,</HI> in your <HI>High-wayes,</HI> and in your <HI>Cities,</HI> yea and <HI>Courts</HI>) by &s;uch as &s;poke the word then, and could not put off their hats, that if &s;omething did not ari&s;e among your &s;elves, to avenge the blood of the Innocent, there would &s;omething come from <HI>be|yond Sea,</HI> which lay re&s;erved there, which the Arme of Fle&s;h, and &s;tronge&s;t of Mountains cannot with&s;tand the Arm of God; &amp; yet you would not con&s;ider, nor regard, nor hear, but cried peace, peace, and fea&s;ted your &s;elves, and &s;ate down in the &s;poyle of your enemies, and were both treacherous to God and man; and who will tru&s;t you now? and have you not taken <HI>CO&V;ENANTS</HI> and <HI>OATHS,</HI> and made the Nation take <HI>CO&V;ENANTS,</HI> and <HI>OATHS?</HI> and broken both <HI>Covenants</HI> and <HI>Oaths,</HI> bewixt God
<PB N="2" REF="2" MS="y">and man, and made the Nation both, break both <HI>Covenants</HI> &amp; <HI>Oaths?</HI> So that nothing but hypocricy, and rottenne&s;s, and fal&s;-hood, and fair pretences, were &s;een among&s;t you. And af|ter when you pretended to &s;et up the <HI>Old-Cau&s;e,</HI> it was but your filline&s;s; &s;o that you long &s;tunk to &s;ober people, which &s;aw that no good you would do, but it was a joy to any of you to get up in Authority, that you might have prai&s;e; and them that were in the &s;elf-denial were a deri&s;ion to you, among&s;t whom That was bani&s;hed, and &s;o become the honored and re&s;pected, Nations Ma&s;ters, and not Servants, for the greate&s;t of all mu&s;t be the Servant to all; and &s;o there you lo&s;t your Authority, not con&s;idering your &s;tates from whence you were, &amp; to what God had rai&s;ed you up, but forgat the Lord, and have quencht that which is good in your &s;elves, and have per&s;ecuted them that lived in it, &s;o that an hone&s;t man could not live among&s;t you, but put out till you were overthrown your &s;elves, and &s;o were grown &s;o gro&s;s &amp; perver&s;e, that at la&s;t you are neither fit for God nor man: Have you not u&s;ed to call the <HI>Quakers,</HI> the <HI>Phanatick people,</HI> and the <HI>giddy heads,</HI> but whether are you now giddied into <HI>Cains</HI> City of <HI>Nod,</HI> which &s;ignifieth wandring? And have you not per&s;ecuted, and impri&s;oned till death, &s;uch as God hath re&s;pect to? and now hath he reproved you for their &s;akes, by them whom ye have hated. Was not many of you cut off (and yet would not take warning) for your per&s;ecuting? was not there a book of <HI>Exaples</HI> &s;et out unto you, &s;hewing what &s;udden and &s;trang deaths happened upon the per&s;ecutors of the Innocent without a cau&s;e? and yet ye would not take war|ning, until the over-flowing Scourge come upon you. Are not you them that have killed, (like <HI>Cain</HI> that killed) about your Sacrifice? hath not God Vagabonded you, that you &s;hould be|come a Cur&s;e upon the earth? doth not the blood of the Righ|teous cry out of the ground for Vengeance? will not the blood of the Righteous be required? did you think that the Lord would let you fit alwayes with bloody hands, and fi&s;ts of wick|edne&s;&s;e? what is become of all your fea&s;ts, and fa&s;ts, or the pray|ers and ble&s;&s;ings of your Prie&s;ts? hath the Lord heard you, or your Sacrifices hath he had re&s;pect unto? do you not &s;ee that its all hypocri&s;ie, and from a fal&s;e heart? will not the Prie&s;ts pray for the <HI>KING</HI> now, as fa&s;t as they prayed again&s;t him, for the <HI>PARLIAMENT,</HI> to keep their benefices, who once prayed
<PB N="4" REF="3">again&s;t him, and &s;aid, <HI>Cur&s;ed was he that did not fight again&s;t him:</HI> Now what is become of your Sacrifices, you Per&s;ecutors, hath God had re&s;pect to them, or are they gone where <HI>Cain</HI> went? O the fal&s;ne&s;&s;e of heart! and treacherou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and &s;ecurity that you were grown to, that you could not tru&s;t one ano|ther! have not you cau&s;ed the Nations, and cau&s;ed the Souldiery both in arrears, and in wages, to &s;uffer? was the Na|tion behind in their Taxes? and have not the Souldiers bin like to &s;tarve for want of their pay? have not you been fal&s;e to God and man every way, &amp; oppre&s;t the Nation every way? &amp; almo&s;t all people had a cry of oppre&s;&s;ion in their mouths, and when they petitioned you; and addre&s;t to you, it was a great thing if they had thanks from you; and &s;ome when they laid their grie|vances before you, you would not take it except they put of their hats: Now your place had been to have &s;ought to have done Ju|&s;tice, if you had known your places, for that is it that pre&s;erves a Nation. So have not you been the greate&s;t Prayers, and Preachers, and Profe&s;&s;ors in the Nation, and the greate&s;t Per|&s;ecutors? for how many thou&s;ands have been brought up to you, and laid before you, that have been Stockt and Whipped, Bani&s;hed, and put to Death, and their hou&s;es Rifled, and their goods &s;poyled, by your great Profe&s;&s;ing, and Preaching Prie&s;ts? as ever did the <HI>Tories,</HI> and <HI>Mo&s;s Troops,</HI> which made your Religion loth&s;ome, and made the hone&s;t people di&s;cent from you; but now have you your reward, and the day of the Lord is come upon you, neverthele&s;s God hath re&s;erved a rod in &s;tore, for them that do wickedly, that none &s;hould rejoyce in wickedne&s;&s;e, and in the downfal one of another, but in the Power of the Lord that doth overturn, which is &s;een with the pure eye, that lives in Ju&s;tice, Truth and Righteou&s;ne&s;s; and the Ravenous Lyons mu&s;t not be Satisfied, but mu&s;t &s;uffer hun|ger; the reward of the hypocrite is to be paid, and per&s;e|cutors were ever blind. And now you may &s;ee what is come upon you; now &s;ee if your Teachers can &s;ave you, who have Preached and Prayed for you, and that they would &s;tand by you with their <HI>Lives</HI> and <HI>Liberties,</HI> and that they would &s;tand in the gap: Now &s;ee how they have deceived you, who&s;e hedg now is laid down to the ground; And have you not impri&s;oned and per&s;ecuted many for coming to you, and warning you of
<PB N="5" REF="3" MS="y">tho&s;e things which now are come to pa&s;s upon you? There|fore, now you may &s;ee, that when you had power you did not do good in your age, and &s;o had not a prai&s;e, neither a good Saviour in the hearts of the hone&s;t upright and inno|cent; for had you &s;topt, the &s;hedding the blood of the innocent, per&s;ecution and oppre&s;&s;ion, the Lord would have &s;tood by you (for that will be the greate&s;t thing upon you) &amp; &s;topped the vi|olence of the wicked, from impri&s;oning them; and the&s;e things will follow you to your beds, and on you lye heavy; yea the heavie&s;t thing as ever you did, be&s;ides all your unju&s;t dealing, and bad actions, and dealings in the Nation to people, that had regard to you, and that were again&s;t you.</P>
<P>And now all ye <HI>PRIESTS</HI> and <HI>PROFESSORS,</HI> you may &s;ee what good you have done among people, and you who have been the cau&s;e of ca&s;ting &s;o many of the &s;ervants of the Lord in pri&s;on, and ca&s;t out of the Vineyard, <HI>and now are you turned out your &s;elves,</HI> and mind your vineyard, how you found it, and how you left it, and &s;ee if you be at peace with the unrighte|ous <HI>mammon,</HI> and now you have not power, but are become as weak as water, and have not &s;trength, neither are you to ri&s;e, ex|cept you repent.</P>
<P>And Friends, you have brought the Nation to be like a great <HI>Sea,</HI> and in it hath been like <HI>Whales</HI> to &s;wallow up; you have been the <HI>bad examples</HI> and <HI>patterns,</HI> who have pretended the greate&s;t profe&s;&s;ion and preaching that ever was in <HI>England</HI> be|fore, but <HI>that</HI> you have di&s;honoured, and <HI>that</HI> which God hath given to you <HI>is quenched,</HI> and you would have broken both <HI>or|der, edification</HI> and <HI>comforting</HI> among&s;t Gods people, but now hath God <HI>broken you,</HI> &amp; reproved you for touching <HI>his Anointed,</HI> and <HI>harming his Prophets;</HI> and you have been the <HI>example</HI> of <HI>per|&s;ecution</HI> to all the Dominion of <HI>England,</HI> yea to all Nations; who have been the greate&s;t profe&s;&s;ors of Chri&s;t with your lips, but now your hearts, and inward parts, and skirts, hath God brought to light, and made you as <HI>bare,</HI> and as <HI>naked,</HI> as the &s;ervants of the Lord that went among you as a &s;igne of your <HI>nakedne&s;s</HI> and <HI>&s;iripping;</HI> (which &s;ome of them you <HI>abu&s;ed,</HI> and ca&s;t into pri&s;on) I <HI>&s;ay,</HI> went <HI>naked</HI> before the people was carried into captivity, as <HI>a &s;igne</HI> to them, as many have done <HI>to you,</HI> and &s;ome in <HI>&s;ack|cloth</HI>
<PB N="5" REF="4">and <HI>a&s;hes</HI> upon their <HI>heads,</HI> and &s;till you rebelled and per|&s;ecuted the Lords <HI>Prophets,</HI> though &s;ome with hypocriticall hearts would promi&s;e <HI>fair,</HI> but perform <HI>little.</HI> Now is a skilfull people come <HI>vpon you,</HI> and now is the <HI>woes</HI> and <HI>plagues</HI> which we have often declared come upon you, which the &s;ervants of the Lord have cryed, <HI>WOE to England, WOE to the corrupt Ma|gi&s;trates, WOE to the Prie&s;ts and to the Hypocrites,</HI> and fair Pre|tenders, and not Doers: Now you may &s;ee the end of your <HI>fal&s;e Prophets</HI> and <HI>Prie&s;ts</HI> that <HI>daubed with untempered morter;</HI> Now where is your wall they made? what have you now to cover your heads? lye they not bare now? are you not all become weak as water and faint-hearted, that dare not &s;tand to your own principles? &s;o as you have been examples and paterns of per|&s;ecution to all Nations of the innocent, in the height of your pride and vanity, are now become a hi&s;&s;ing to all Nations in your fall, which the pride went before, which you were often told of. Oh wo is me for you! That mercy from the Lord you may find, in this great deep dark day of confu&s;ion among you, who are like <HI>Babilon</HI> confounded, who hath long drunk the Saints blood; the <HI>Kings</HI> of the earth mu&s;t hate the Whore, as the <HI>Re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">elations</HI> the <HI>Scriptures</HI> mu&s;t be fulfilled, and thats but begin|ning, your <HI>Dalilah</HI> hath cut <HI>your locks,</HI> who has <HI>lulled</HI> a&s;leep in her lap, who ro&s;e and &s;hook your &s;elves, and thought to have been as at other times: This was &s;aid to you before your eyes was put out, &amp; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ou &s;et <HI>a grinding;</HI> but now you mu&s;t &s;ee if you can work in the <HI>Mill,</HI> but your &s;tate will hardly be found <HI>Samp&s;ons,</HI> therefore con&s;ider your &s;elves, and &s;ee if they were not your friends that warned you of the things that is come upon you; who in the day of your pro&s;perity would have &s;topt the cry of Wi&s;dom in your gates, and they that reproved &s;in in your gates (which you Magi&s;trates did not keep down) was become a prey among&s;t you; your goals you fill'd almo&s;t in every corner of the Nation with the innocent and peaceable people; and of &s;uch as obey|ed the command of Chri&s;t, and could not &s;weare, you thru&s;t out of you <HI>Courts</HI> and <HI>Places,</HI> and thru&s;t them <HI>into Goals,</HI> that would have done truth at <HI>yea</HI> and <HI>nay.</HI> The hou&s;es of <HI>thou&s;ands</HI> of Families have you &s;uffered to be <HI>rifled</HI> and <HI>&s;poiled</HI> by the <HI>Prie<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">s</HI> with a company of club-men, like a troop of Robbers: In all your <HI>Courts, A&s;&s;izes,</HI> and <HI>Se&s;&s;ions</HI> have you cau&s;ed the <HI>in|nocent</HI>
<PB N="6" REF="4" MS="y">to be haled up and down, by an unrighteous <HI>mini&s;try</HI> that they did no work for; and &s;o brought iniquity upon your Throne Likewi&s;e men of 60. or 80. l. a year, who reproved &s;in in the gates, and likewi&s;e <HI>&s;ober women,</HI> you have whipped as <HI>va|gabonds,</HI> and &s;o have been <HI>examples</HI> to Nations to <HI>Whip, Bani&s;h, Pri&s;on, Kill, Burn,</HI> and drink the blood of the innocent; and &s;o Chri&s;t hath not been your example, <HI>who &s;aves mens lives.</HI></P>
<P>And be&s;ides, <HI>thou&s;ands</HI> you have &s;uffered <HI>your Prie<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">s</HI> and <HI>Peo|ple</HI> to drag out of your <HI>Steeple-hou&s;es</HI> by the <HI>hair of the head, knockt down,</HI> lay for <HI>dead,</HI> &s;hed <HI>their blood,</HI> &amp; ca&s;t into <HI>pri&s;on,</HI> &amp; be|&s;ides <HI>thou&s;ands</HI> of <HI>meetings</HI> of the people of God have been by your people tumulted, many there <HI>windows broken,</HI> hou&s;es <HI>pull'd down,</HI> and <HI>men</HI> pulled out of the <HI>meeting</HI> by the <HI>hair of the head</HI> when <HI>they</HI> have been at prayer, which has been a di&s;honour, &amp; a &s;hame to Government: And how many <HI>formed lies</HI> have been invented among&s;t you, and by your <HI>Prie&s;ts,</HI> that the <HI>Quakers</HI> was ri&s;ing to cut your throats; and now what good does your refuge do you? and what is become of your refuge makers? are not the <HI>Quakers</HI> now <HI>tryed</HI> and <HI>proved?</HI> and mu&s;t not now your refuge of lies go to the pit with you? and was not the people of God called <HI>Quakers</HI> your friends, in warning you of all this that is come to pa&s;&s;e? though you per&s;ecuted them, and trod upon them, and ca&s;t them out, for the Lords names &s;ake, and becau&s;e they trembled at his word; but now he &s;hall appear for their &s;akes, and you &s;hall be a&s;hamed, and the thou&s;ands; and multitudes that have been per&s;ecuted by you for not <HI>doffing hats</HI> to you, and re&s;pecting per&s;ons, in which you went beyond all <HI>Chri&s;tianity</HI> (yea, the very <HI>Turk</HI>) in pride and ambition, and now you may &s;ee what you have been cover|ed withall, now you have the &s;ub&s;tance of it, and you may &s;ee how the life of Religion, you have lived out of, and out of the life of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> and the <HI>Apo&s;tles;</HI> and now you may &s;ee that God hath &s;tained, and laid in du&s;t that glory and honour of yours, which you would have had friends to bow down to, and per&s;ecuted them becau&s;e they would not give it you, and becau&s;e they would not bow down to your will-wor&s;hips, but wor&s;hipt God in Spirit and Truth.</P>
<P>And was not per&s;ecution ever blind, and Per&s;ecutors? and now you may &s;ee into what Ditch you are fallen: And have you
<PB N="8" REF="5">not a reward according to your workes? you cannot &s;ay, but you were warned both by God and his people, and were in a wilfull rebelling again&s;t both; and &s;o the Lord will make you to know his Arm and Power, and his hand &s;tretched out, which layes down the Mountaines with the Valleys, and layes down the &s;tur|die&s;t Oak, and &s;layes the fatte&s;t Bull: View the hand that does this, and Power of the Lord: Whether would not now many of you be glad of a <HI>Rock</HI> and a <HI>Hole</HI> in the earth to hide your &s;elves in, when the Lord is ri&s;en to &s;hake terribly the earth? now mu&s;t you not own <HI>Quakers</HI> whether you will or no? and for all your per&s;ecution towards us we freely &s;ay, <HI>the Lord forgive you,</HI> and <HI>that from him you may find mercy in this day of your mi&s;e|ry,</HI> and whether now <HI>night</HI> is not come upon you that hath been told you, that your walking is there? and now have not you trea|chery enough, who in it has been found both to God and Man? plain dealing men were become, an abominable thing among you, for how many fair promi&s;es had you promi&s;ed to the Na|tion, over and over, and how long did the Lord &s;pare you? and did you not betray the innocent people of the Nation? Now mind and con&s;ider, whither that hath brought you &s;elves, <HI>and learn to do &s;o no more, but repent.</HI></P>
<P>All men &s;hall be at their wits end about their Religion and Profe&s;&s;ion which be out of the Life &amp; Power the Prophets and Apo&s;tles were in, and in heaps, and confu&s;ions, and di&s;tractions, one &s;etting up, and another plucking down; And this is the work out of the Life and Power.</P>
<P>And before the Lord de&s;troyed <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> he long warned them, as he hath long <HI>you,</HI> and neverthele&s;&s;e the Lords Arm and Power, will and &s;hall be &s;een in this Nation.</P>
<P>And did not the Lord warn &amp; fend Prophets among the peo|ple before he de&s;troyed them? and did not they per&s;ecute them as you have done? and &s;o ca&s;t the Lords Servants out of the vineyard, like the <HI>Jews,</HI> untill at the la&s;t they were ca&s;t out them&s;elves, and &s;o you who have betrayed the Nation and pow|er, at la&s;t what you &s;owed, that you do reap.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>From one that loves all &s;ouls (and the good of all people) which is eternall. <HI>George Fox.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
