WE hope it is on our hearts to live and die with you , as those that are joyned to the Lord , and each to other by the will of God , members of that one body , built up through that one everlasting spirit , a holy Tabernacle for the living God . Neither is it the least part of our joy to be serviceable unto you , who are our joy , and the delight of our dear Jesus . Surely we have been made in much sense to say to the Lord , our goodnesse extends not unto thee ; but if as a few poor worms we may be usefull to thy excellent ones , to help them on to the end of their faith , the salvation of their souls , it shall be enough unto us : And for this we would labour night and day , warning every one of you , striving with you , and together with you with God for you , that every one of you may be presented perfect in Christ Jesus . This design and honest desire of our souls , hath brought us together from far to ●it before the Lord in this place , where we have been taking upon us to speak to God , though dust and ashes . Yea , we have been encouraged to spread before your Father and our Father , the several weights that lie upon you and us . Wherein we have not been without hope , the Father hath not taken advantage through our confessions to condemn us in his presence , or to upbraid us , but hath smiled upon us notwithstanding . And though we have been ready to cry out , we are cut off from before thine eyes , yet hath he heard the voice of our supplication . And it is no small addition to our comfort , while we think of it , that while we carried the yokes and burdens of whole Sion , and have been as the souls under the Altar , crying , How long Lord , holy and true , why doth this Chari●t wheel make so ●●ng tarrying ? the Lord hath lightned us while we have thus looked unto him . Neither shall we be ashamed to say to you , Rejoyce oh Daughter of Sion , behold your King , he commeth in righteousness and in peace , to give an expected end . We have told our Father and your Father , that we could not be satisfied with life for our selves , peace for our selves , white robes for our selves , unless Sion also might be made partaker of the salvation of God . And in this we hav● had some faith , and some revivings have attended our souls in the hope of his mercy ; and now as we have been faithfull for you to God , so we would now be faithful for God to you . We have been arraigning the abominations of Sion b●fore the bar of the most High ; we have been crying for Justice from the throne , upon every sin , for strength and light to purge out every persisting impenitent sinner , as enemies and traytors to the crown and dignity of our Lord Jesus . More particularly , we have been spreading out our hands before the most High , and have made confession of those reigning abominations in our own souls , and in the Churches that light spirit , living short of the true light and sense of Gods Majesty in his Churches , and among his Saints ; from whence proceeds that vanity and carelesness which doth so much attend them . We have bewaild that wretched worldly spirit , that plucks down the Saints from their excellency , and leaves such blacknesse upon them , which renders them so uncomely in the eyes of men . We have bewaild that coldnesse and deadness that is upon our selves , and upon the Churches . That formality in holy duties , that indifferency , that Laodicean spirit that is fallen in upon us , while we have be●n ●ry●ng , Let him make speed and hasten his work that we may see it , let the counsel of the Lo●d come , that we may know it ; and all this wh●le h●ve been drawing iniquity with the cords of vanity , having been in a great measure as without the sence of the work , so without the true travail of soul , which this work should put us into . For these things our souls have been bowed down : And some have been made to cry out , O● that our heads were a 〈◊〉 , and our yes were us rivers of tears , that we m●ght weep f●r the in●quity of the daughters of Sion . Behold for this our souls have been in distresse , our bowels have been ●●oubled , our hearts have been turned within us ; we have taken off our ornaments , we have been breaking and bleeding , and have been crying out for more ●ighs , because the crown is fallen from Sions head by reason of her iniqui●y . We have been bewailing personall iniquity , congregationall iniqu●ty ▪ national ●niqui●y , family iniquity , cl●s●t ●niquity ; we have by search found poor Sion as it were witho●t soundnesse , from the crow● of the head to the sole of the f●●o●full of bruises and putrified sores . And now we call upon you that tremble at the word of God to come unto us ; take heed , oh take ●●ed of being unsensible of poor Ja●ob● trouble ; take heed of stretc●ing y●ur s●lv●s on your b●ds of Ivory , of drinking you wine in bowls , in cha●ting at the sound of the viol , ano●●●ing you● s●lves with the chief Spices , a●d forget that J●s●ph is in affliction , your poor nat●on , your poor familys , your poor Churches , your own poor ●culs are in distresse , heaven and earth seems to frown ▪ ●rouble within , and terrour without ; these things are come upon thee , and who shall comfort thee ? Oh c●me down , sit in the dust , call your solemn assemblies , pr●cla●m fasts , and w●ep bitterly before the Lord f●r all your abomin●tion : You have but as it were played with God you have not tr●mbled in his pres●nce , you have been wa●ton before him , having been without the terror of his Majesty , therefore you have confessed , and have delighted to word it out with the Lord , but alas , you have no sooner gon away , but you have forgot what manner of men and women you were , and thought no more on your prayers . Oh how often have you mocked God ; but oh be not deceived , God will not be mocked . It appeares already how God takes it at your hands , and now once more you have sent us hither , and once more our father hath smiled upon us , for we have begged him to save us yet this once more , and truly we tr●mble . If it should be as at other times , what will the Lord doe in the end thereof , the hope that is in Israel concerning this th●ne li●● in your putting from you that accursed thing . Oh now if you would pursue this pride , this worldliness , this coldness and slothfulness , your personal neglects , your family neglects , the Lord might yet be intreated to return and have mercy upon us , that we might be healed . Oh that now these things might ●e laid to heart . How d●th the world as a canker eat out your affections to the Lord Jesus , eat out your time , your strength , your zeale , while you have been asleep in the lap of this Dali●●h , your locks have been cut off , and you are but as other men ; that whoever beholds you may say what singular thing do ye ? now then lay to heart these crying abominations of Sion : the generall complaint in almost all the Epistles , the world is too beautiful ; Satan hath shewed them the Kingdoms of the earth , and this hath Bewitched them , and their minds are much , oh too much alienated from the Lord . Oh brethren the lot is fall●n upon this as a troubler of Israel , and that for which you have fallen before your enemies , bring it out now , and stone it before the Lord ; yea raise up such a heap upon it , as it may never appear more ; that God m●y make this Valley of Ach●r a door of h●pe . This iniquity hath been apparently written upon your for●heads , witness your ●emisness i● meetings , your neglect of the poor Sain●s , and of the Ministers of Christ , whose daily complaints and addresses are living monuments of this raigning abomination ; your cruelty to servants , children , exacting all their labours , but take no time to counsell them , instruct them , to shew them that are without Christ that miserable estate wherein they are , that their souls may be the better for you , and they bound to blesse God on your behalf . And to commune in the Lord with them that are in Christ , that their souls might be comforted , edified , and encouraged to walk with God in their places . This hath made professors families so dry , useless , & unprofitable , Saints communion so little tending to edification . This ●in eats out all that divine sweetness of regenerating and sanctifying grace . We have mou●ned in that we have had so great a hand in this trespass , in not bearing so faithful a testimony against it in our miyistry , but slavish fear of being accounted selfish or the like , hath stopt our mouth untill the mouth of this iniquity hath almost devouring the poor Churches of Christ . Oh we would not consult with this flesh any longer , but in our places ( and desire by these to provoke all the ministring brethren every where also to be faithfull to the Lord and their poor Churches , to bear a faithful testimony against every evil way that is hated and abhor'd of God , what censure soever they may meet with all from men . That of slothfulness , carelesness , another reigning evil ; from these two as the root springs many other dangerous hurtful practices the great hinderances of our works in our Families the Churches and our own Souls . And because they are evils rooted deeply in the heart , it is hard to get them out . And we have by experience found , how well they are able to bear with testimony against them , with Reproo●s and Counsels , and yet lie close , they are Sermon-proof and Epistle-proof ; so strong that they have wrested all weapons out of the hands of Saints and Ministers that have been formed against them : Now we desire we may no longer rest in a testimony of words , but proceed to take some effectual course that sin or sinners may be purged out of the house of God . In order to this , we desire the Churches that they would set some day or days apart wherein they may bewail these iniquities and pollutions of Sion before the Lord , and to bring their souls into a through sence of them also , that the ministring brethren would without respect of persons bear their constant testimony in their ministry , and from house to house night and day , warning every one to flee from those abominations ; that at least they may deliver themselves from the blood of souls , having declared to them the whole counsel of God . And if still it be persisted in , and plain proofs of it in the ways and works of the professors of Christ , we leave it as the Churches special duty to pursue it , by dealing with it until sin or sinner be purged away . We shall leave it to the Lord , and those with whom the Lord hath intrusted with his Oracles to be further opening and alledging those things whose words we desire may be heeded . Another ●vil we had thought to have spread before you ; for want of opporunity we shall now omit , yet desire you may lay it to heart , look over again our former Epistles , and that from Chard we have laboured in vain , that which hath been brought forth hath been to so little purpose . And now brethren , our hope is in your obedience ; in those things we hope we shall rejoyce in you ; nay we do rejoyce in our hope of you ; in this hope we commit you to the Lord , and to the word of his grace , who is able to build you up , and to give you an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified . We remain