DEar Lambs of the living God , for I know you are so , because the Wolves are so greedy to destroy you , I have a Message from the great Bishop and Shepherd of your Souls , unto you all , and in his Fear and Name I am faithfully to deliver it .

Thus saith the Lord , the mighty God and great Shepherd of the flocks 〈◊〉 ye not dismayed with any amazement , neither be ye afraid ●●●se of the multitude of Wolves , and wild Beasts of prey , that ●ee●●devour you ; for thus hath the Lord spoken unto me , saying , Like 〈◊〉 Lion , or young Lion , roareth upon the prey that he hath gotten , ●●not afraid though the multitudes of Shepherds cry out upon him , 〈◊〉 abased for all the heap of them ; So shall the Lord of Hosts ●et down to fight for Mount Sion , and defend his Hills : L●ke as the 〈◊〉 flutter about their Nests ; so shall the Lord of Hosts keep , de●●●ive , and deliver Jerusalem : and what-ever may come to pass , it 〈◊〉 only try you , but not destroy you ; for , I will not , not , not leave you , ●●●sake you , saith the Lord , but you shall be mine , and I will save ●ll , whose trust is in me the living God , as a man save●h his only ●●it serveth him . But , as I have already in measure shewed you , ●●an is in his best estate , and the son of man with all his endow●●●● of Wit , Parts , Learning and Understanding , Streng●h and Po●● , together with all his Experiences and Observations ( which is out ●●y fear and counsel ) so I will yet manifest unto you further , the ●●jand helplesness of man , and the son of man , how that he is not to be ●●●ted of ; and all , for this end , that you may cease from him , and c●re lean upon his arm , neither within nor wi●hout , nor go down Egypt for help ; for it shall be known , that the Egyptians are men , ●in God ; and their horses flesh , and not spirit . O my People , saith ●●rd , remember now what Balak King of Moab consulted , and 〈◊〉 Balaam the son of Peor answered him from Shittim even to Gilgal , ●●e may know the Righteousness of the Lord , and how I have ap●ed for you from time to time , and followed you from Prison to 〈◊〉 , saith the Lord , with my Life and Presence , and from East to 〈◊〉 I have been with you , as I have called you and sent you forth ; 〈◊〉 and by Land ye have seen my Wonders , according as my Provi●●e hath ordered any of you ; and in Sickness and Health I have ●e with you , that many of you can say and bear witness for me , that ●re made your weak , infirm and tender bodies , to be strong , and to 〈◊〉 more hardship and sufferings , than ever you could have believed ●●●d been able to have gone through : and also I have made you ●●g to forsake your dearest Relations , and to chuse rather to be in ●●●n Prison with Me , than to dwell in your ceiled houses without my ●nd Peace in your hearts , and this you know right well .

〈◊〉 my People , saith the Lord , remember these things , that ye may 〈◊〉 to know me more and more , for I change not : but as I have been with you in all estates and conditions , so I will be with you unto the ●nd : and will bring wo and misery upon all your Enemies , that decree ●●righteous Decrees against you , they shall not be able to bring to pass their purpose , saith the Lord , for I will befool them , and then make their own folly to corect them ; and they shall see it , and b● ashamed , but shall not be alle to help themselves , nor deliver their own souls . ●u● For you my People , saith the Lord , that dwell in my Fear , and give up ●●ll unto me , ( keeping nothing back in hypocrisie ) I will be with you , and in you , and your Enemies shall see you ascend in power and great glory , as gazers upon you , but not being able to hinder you . While I am speaking of it , my heart melts within me , and the Joy of my God overcomes me , only I must not forbear to write these things unto you , because required thereunto by the Lord. Be ye still , and ye shall all know him from the least to the greatest , and he will not forget any one of you , beest thou never so little , poor , and weak in thine own eyes : but the Hypocrites shall be bound hand and foot , so that all their nests and holes shall not hide them , and shall be cast into thick darkness ; that as they shall not be able to find their hands to help themselves , so shall they not have an eye to see , any way to escape the just hand and judgment of the Lord : but the upright in heart shall now be known in this day of tryal , who have none but the Lord alone to trust unto , and lean upon ; these shall see the Salvation of God , and praise his holy Name , for this pure separating day of his Love unto them , but of Judgment unto all the Hypocrites in Sion ; my Exhortation from the Lord unto you All is , To keep low in your hearts and mind , close unto his Light , that it unto the Seed of Life ye may be led in it to have your dwelling day ●d night , where no evil tidings come , ( as you know right well ) and in this ●ansomed Seed keep your Meetings , so will they be full of glory , un●● the astonishing of all that come among you , that it may now be ●●own unto all people , that we are those whom the most High hath ●osen , to write his Name upon ( as that City of God in which he delights ●●ell ) that the little Si●●er scatte●ed upon the face of the Earth , ●hich hath no breasts , may now be thought upon , and that tidings of ●●●iverance may be sounded in her ears , in all Nations whither she is ●●ven , that she may flock as the Doves to the windows , through the ●●aring of the Joyful Sound , that the Mighty GOD is risen in a poor and afflicted People in England , who cannot how to any graven Image , nor give their power unto the Beast , but will follow the Lamb where-ever he goeth , chusing rather to die with him than to forsake him .

And dear Friends and Brethren , my further Exhortation to you from the Lord of Hosts is , That you all now do live in that Truth , which you have both heard and spoken of to others , that so your union in the Life and Power may stand ; then will you be strong as Mount Sion , and an help one to another , the strong taking the weak by the hand , saying , I feel thee , and therefore cannot leave thee behind , but must have thee along with me : and this will not only encrease your Number , but discourage your Enemies , when they see you keep your Meetings , and worship the God of Daniel , as at other times . And what though you are carried to Prisons by droves and slocks , and sent wheresoever your Enemies have power , will not that their hour and power of darkness , be the hour in which the Father will glorifie himself ? yes , it will , for the Lord hath spoken it : and by this shall all men know you are Christ's Disciples ; not as Judas to betray him , or deny him before men , but because you love him you keep his Commandments , and they are not grievous unto you , though men would make them so accord to their power by their pains and punishments . And I am further do declare unto You in the Name of my God , for your comfort and your Enemies torment , that he is bringing forth a Birth in you his People , which fears no● Death , for it hath in despight of all Deaths power , passed through Deaths Country and Regions , as a Conqueror ( through the strength of Jesus ) and is now passed into Life and Immortality , where it dwells safely in love and peace with all men , not at all fearing what they can do unto it , having already tryed the strength of him , that is the power of death , which is the Devil : and this Birth , is that which is and shall be more and more as an Army terrible with Banners to affright the Wicked , when they see that there is no Conquering by Death or Banishment ; because Death it self is Conquered , by that Birth immortal , in which you dwell and inhabit . O blessed Birth of the Morning of the everlasting Day of the Most High , Sing ye , sing ye , and again I say , sing ye the Songs of the Lamb , and rejoyce ye in the mighty God , for he lives that will Crown you , and he abides faithful that cannot deny himself , who 〈◊〉 our God and Helper for ever , unto whom I am joyned with you , and 〈◊〉 whom I dearly salute you , and embrace you all , who are faithful ●●●nesses unto the Name and Truth of the Lord , in this Trying , but not Destroying 〈◊〉 I behold ●ee , 〈…〉 Glorious as the Noon-Day ] in despight of all Clouds , and Darkness , in the Pure promised Heavenly Seed , in thee revealed and made manifest , unto the endless praise of thy God , over all the World and powers of Darkness for evermore .

These Things I was commanded to write unto you , in the opening Spirit of Life , where I am with you all , in the meek Suffering Spirit of the Lamb , who am now in outward Bonds ( though in perfect inward Freedom ) for the Name and Testimony of JESUS .