The Lord, who is the Ancient of Days, the unchangeable, and Holy One of Israel, that was, and is, and is to come, our Rock and Strength for ever, hath graciously brought us together by hit own power, and is with us, yea, and hath covered us with his lore and Spirit, and filled our hearts with his undeclarable kind ness; the sense of his mercies hath exceedingly overcome us, and the remembrance of his ancient goodness has even melted and cemented us together; and blessed, and sweet, and very precious to our souls is the heavenly unity of life among us, wherein at thu meeting the Lord our God hath crowned us with glory, dominion, and peace: blessed for ever be his pure name!
Oh! how good it is for all tokeep in the living sense of God and hisTruth; where plenteous redemption and preservation are known, Where the murmurerandrepiner can never come: theieforeall that are in the muttering, dissatisfied, and jealous nature, full of doubts, reasonings, and objectings, go from their pure eye, and out of Truth's habitation in themselves, and so come to suffer lots. Dear Brethren, at this time, as on the like occasion hath been frequent with us, the care of the pence and welfare of the churche* of Christ came upon us, and, blessed be the Lord, things are generally well and flourishing, and Truth grows famous, though sufferings abound in several places, yet it is well with Friends, and the Lord's power reigns, and great has been the concern of Friends about the sufferings of our brethren, and other things, and blessed meetings have we had, wherein things have been clearly opened, sweetly and tenderly treated on, and in much love and brotherly kindness concluded; for which blessed be the name of the Lord, whose living, ancient, fresh power and presence was with us. But truly with bowed spirits and grief of heart have we perceived the obstinacy and obdurateness of some that have gone into the selfwill casting tender love and entreating behind their backs; settingup, contin ingin, and promoting false and pernicious jealousies and secret smitings, whereby they are darkened in their under standing, and so have, through the power of the enemy of the King of Righteousness his peace, vet up a kind of standard of separation from the blessed fellowship and communion that the churchei of Christ sweetly possessed together; to the dishonour of God, his Truth, and people: more especially J. S. and J. W. notwithstanding the many visitations and admonitions of lore and life, even in the deepest travails, and that from time to time, and year to year, particularly the sense and admonitions of the last Yearly Meeting, written in great love, that they might return and be reconciled before they offer their gift, which they have rejected.
And forasmuch as it appears to us that they will not come at us nor near us, in the peaceable Truth which we have frequently truly desired for their good, but that they go on in their opposi tion and evil smiting against the faithful brethren and practice of the church of Christ, refusing to dissolve their separate company in the North, or clear their hands of them by a faithful testimony against them, or so much as blot their names out of their paper of separation; and because we are sensible they have made an ill use of our forbearance, even to strengthen themselves in their separa tion, and cover their evil designs the more among some simple hearted Friends persevering therein by word, writing, and practice, we are constrained after this continued waiting and exhortation thus slighted by them, for the glory of (he name of the Lord, the sake of the peace of the churches of Christ, and that we may stand clear in the power of God of the blood of all in the great and notable day of account, more publicly to reprove and judge them in these things, and we do hereby reprove and judge that jea lous, rending, and separating spirit, and them and their separate company, as being in that spirit of separation, and that by the power and Spirit of pur God, and we do warn all to whom this comes, to beware of the said J. S. and J. W. whose way at present is not the way of peace and Christian concord, for if it were they would not offer their gift till reconciled to their brethren. Therefore brethren, everywhere, stand up in the power and wisdom of God, for the testimony of Truth against that wrong, jealous, murmuring and dividing spirit; and where they come, warn them in the name of the Lord to go home and be reconciled to their brethren, and not go thus up and down to offer up their gift (which in this, state is not a peace but a division offering) contrary to the precept of Christ Jesus our Lord, of being first reconciled, whatever their pretences be; and therein will you acquit yourselves in God's sight, and shew true love and friendship unto them, and those that may be hurt by them; which our friends most earnestly desire, yea, that it may be truly well with them both here and for ever; and from the Lord we say, had they loved the prosperity of Zion and the peace of Jerusalem more than their own self-will and self - separation, and had they sought the unity that is in the Truth, and sweet communion of brethren, which stands in that love that thinks no evil, and that wisdom that is gentle, and very easy to be entreated by the brethren, sweet and very precious had our fellowship been together at this day.
And it is our exhortation to you, Friends and Brethren of Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, that you watch in the light and power of God, against this separating spirit that smites at the blessed fellowship of the churches of Christ, and where it enters any, in God's love to admonish, exhort, and warn such to take heed of that ravenous spirit, and to keep the unity and peace of the family of the Lord, the household of Christ; and if, notwith standing your tender Christian dealing and forbearance, such persons persevere and go on in their separate spirit and practice, let God's Truth be clear of them, and Truth set over their heads, according to the blessed order of the Gospel of Christ settled amongst you; and, dear Brethren, be careful not to suffer your meetings, which were gathered, not by the will of man, but by the power and wisdom of the Lord God, to be disturbed, overruled, and spoiled by heady, obstinate, and contentious persons that disturb the peace of the church of Christ; neither fear man, but eye the Lord, and wait in his power and wisdom to be guided and ordered, and so go on to your work in the name of the Lord; for the seed of life, and not the wisdom that is from below, must rule and have the dominion for ever. But forasmuch as the way of the working of this subtle enemy has been to suggest that it is the design of some to make themselves lords over God'* heritage, and to set up a worldly and arbitrary power in the church of Christ; and then to run out into severe exclamations against imposition, crying up liberty of conscience, thareby casting a mist before the eyes of the simple, and a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; this we feel ourselves constrained in the love of the Lord, for the good of all to declare, and the Lord that gathered us and preserved us to this day by his Spirit, is our record, that we deny and abhor any such thing; for we have one Lord, Judge, King, and Lawgiver in the church, and that is Christ Jesus; unto whose light, power, and Spirit we have been turned, and in that have worshipped him, and had fellowship together to this very day, and are your servants for his sake. And we are assured in the Lord that those that keep in the light, and life, and power of Jesus will have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and the Son; and though it is far from us to bruise or hurt the poorest or least member in the church of Chriat, who may not have that clearness of sight and strength of faith which the Lord has brought us to, but that they may be cherished; yet by that salt which we have in ourselves from the Lord are we enabled to savour between the transformations of the enemy, and the scru ples of the innocent; and, as to be tender of the one, so to give judgment against the other, and our day and age hath lamentably shewn us the effects of that spirit that under the pretence of crying down imposition, and pleading for liberty, and doing nothing but what it is free to, endeavoured to lay waste the blessed unity of brethren, and so overrun the heritage of the Lord, that lived together as an orderly family, under the law of life, and living order of the Gospel, with a loose and unsubject conversation, which would bring confusion in the church; and to the end that those very persons concerned in this separation may appear to be no true lovers of Christian liberty, and Gospel privileges, as they pretend, let their own Paper, which is a declaration of the reasons of their so separating, be read and weighed in the universal love and life of Christ Jesus; and therein we well suppose will be found the true nature of imposition, in that none of their own county are allowed to be of the Monthly or Quarterly Meetings, but such as are appointed and chosen by the particular meetings; next, that none of other counties, though public labourers of the Gospel, are to be admitted to be at their meetings, unless it be to tell their message and immediately to depart: and these with such like things eighty-seven subscribed as the reasons of their separation, and foundation of a new government among themselves, which is a. plain independency from the life and practipe of the church of Christ throughout the world.
Oh Friends ! watch in the power of God against this spirit that would make them twain that God hath made one, and sepa rate what God hath joined together, and you that have any interest in them, and to whom their regard is, Oh ! have a care that you give them no strength in their manifest separation, but stand upon your watch-tower, dear Friends, in God's love, and touch not with that spirit, the enemy of Zion's glory, and their peace, give not your strength to them, but deal faithfully with them, and seek them in God's way and wisdom, that whatever becomes of them in the end, you may be clear of their blood in the sight of the Lord, and they may not say but that they have had a day of love and visitation ; and truly that which has encouraged us in this Epistle is that good success God hath blessed our like endeavours in his power with ; for many deceived by them and con federated with them, having seen their snare, in tenderness of spirit have honestly confessed their fault, and are come from them, and have testified both against the separate company, and themselves for having been of it ; and now live in unity with their brethren, and feel the joy and quiet habitation that in the communion of saints and fellowship of the churches of Jesus are enjoyed ; Praises to the Lord for ever. And as we desire, so we hope, that more will be brought to the same blessed sense.
So be zealous for the Lord, dear Brethren, and stand op in his Spirit and power for the peace of his Church, and in his precious peaceable life dwell, that keeps in soundness of mind; then will you shew mercy to that to which mercy is due, and judgment to that to which judgment is due, without respect to persons, and herein our pure 'true love is shewn to them and all mankind, and the God of our heavenly love, peace, and precious fellowship be with us all, and bless us, and keep us to the glory of his eternal name, who over all spirits, angels, and men, thrones, dignities, and dominions, reigns, and is worthy and blessed for ever.
We are, unanimously, your dear and faithful brethren, in the labour, travail, tribulation, patience, hope, and rejoicing of the kingdom of Jesus our Lord,
| Thomas Taylor | John Whitehead | Tho. Burr |
| Thos. Biggs | Nicholas Gates | Wm. Fallowfield |
| Wm. Edmundson | Leonard Fell | Jonath. Johnson |
| Ambrose Rigge | John Abraham | Rich. Vickris |
| Jasper Batt | Stephen Smith | James Claypoole |
| John Burnyeat | Bray Doyley | Oliver Sansom |
| James Harrison | Thos. Holmes | Luke Howard |
| John Bourne | James H-------- | Richd. Snead |
| Cuthbert Hayhurst | Thos. Robertson | Jno. Wilford |
| Henry Jackson | William Gosnell | Jno. Elson |
| Giles Barnardiston | Benjn. Antrobus | Jno. Dew |
| John Moon | Samuel Jennings | Sam. Cater |
| Morgan Watkinson | Richard Pinder | J. Vaughton |
| Thos. Atkins | Phineas Bell | Ezekiel Woolley |
| Wm. Gibson | James Fletcher | Fras. Fincher |
| Christopher Beacon | Tho. Zachary | Jno. Kilborne |
| Roger Longworth | Tho. Breisley | Wm. Whaley |
| Christopher Taylor | John Tysoe | Tho. Ellwood |
| Richard Davis | John Watson | Sam. Fullbeck |
| John Higgins | Anth. Tompkins | John Blaiklin |
| Thos. Larimore | John Boy | Wm. Penn |
| John Hill | harles Marshall | Fras. Moore |
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