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hearts of people. And were not this a way full of equity for the trial of all things? But doing contrary, as you have done these many years against us, by violence, and whipping, and persecuting, it shows you have not the spiritual weapons, nor the authority of God with you, nor among you; and that is the cause of running to magistrates, and putting in jails, and whippings, and all violence, because the authority of God's spirit is wanting amongst you, which all the false sects and false churches, since the days of the apostles, have wanted, to defend themselves and resist their enemies. And so all sects have been fighting one with another, and killing persons, and have defended themselves by prisons, and inquisitions, and destroying of lives; and all these have been out of the power of God, and in the power of the dragon, and of the beast, who hath caused all to worship, and them that would not, he hath had power to kill, and hath killed them, by fires, and tortures, and cruel deaths. And all these have lost the spiritual weapons, and been without the power and spirit of God. And what a church is this of yours, which hath need to be defended by jails, and prisons, and whips, and stocks, and violent dealing! This church is not the church of Christ, for the power and spirit of God defends her always, and not inquisitions, and prisons, and whips. These are Cain's weapons, and not the weapons of the spirit of God, whereby his true church was ever defended. For because Cain's sacrifice was not accepted, therefore he slew his brother, and persecuted him; and thus you that are of Cain's seed do the same, upon the same ground, because your works are rejected, and theirs accepted with whom you deal thus in this violent way of persecution and wickedness.

And this is the Protestant church, so called, and her ministers, with whom I am now dealing, which seems to be the true church, and more than the church of Rome. For you Protestant ministers do deny and cry against the church of Rome as a false church, and her ministers to be deceivers, which in itself is very true, yet your hypocrisy in this doth appear, and your double mindedness; for let me tell you, while you cry against the church of Rome as a false idolater, and a persecutor of the true church, and against her ministers as deceivers, and contrary to the apostles, your spirits are the same, and your works the same in nature, and in particular, though not in measure. This work of yours to imprison people, and whip them, and put them in the stocks, and beat them, and abuse their persons, who do but speak against you and your religion; is not this work of the very same nature as the work of the Romish church? She to defend herself hath inquisitions, and banishment, and many cruel tortures, and with these things she defends herself, killing and afflicting the bodies of people that oppose her, and deny her religion; and you have stocks, and whips, and houses of correction, VOL. III.

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and put great fines and tasks upon people, and banish them out of towns, and spoil their goods, and cast them into prison who oppose your church and deny your religion. And is not this equal and justly according in nature to the persecution that is in the Romish church? And what difference between the defence of the church of Rome and your church of Protestants? They have their inquisitions, and you have your houses of correction; they have their slavery in the gallies, and you have whips and stocks; they have their divers torments, and cruel dealings towards persons that oppose them, in one manner, and you have your torments and cruel dealings towards us in another manner; though not in the same measure, yet in the same nature: what difference between you and them? And herein doth the hypocrisy of the Protestant church and their ministers appear, in that they cry against and deny the church of Rome and their persecution and cruelty acted against others, and yet in nature and manner practice the very same upon us, as in England this day is witnessed. And not only in this particular may the church and ministers of the Protestants be condemned for hypocrisy, but also in many other things, even the most of their practices in their worship are of the same nature, and by the same spirit, which the practices of the church of Rome are acted by and in. And not only so, but it may be truly proved and made manifest, that many of your church practices have proceeded from the church and pope of Rome who did ordain and institute many of your practices, and a great part of your worship, which is performed in the church and by the ministry of the Protestants, so called; and this in its time and season I may make fully appear, and discover to the nations; and I may show in the particulars, what particulars of the worship and practice in the Protestant church had their rise and original in the church of Rome. Though they are minced with diminishings and addings, according as their imaginations have guided them, they still retain the strongest taste and savour of the church of Rome, and had their beginning and original there. And though in the performing thereof, they may be altered and changed in appearance and form, they are perfectly the same in ground and nature, as springing from the church of Rome, and she is the mother of the Protestant church, and of the most of her practices and performances in worship. And this may be proved, as, God willing, upon occasion, as the Lord moves, I may show that though the church of the Protestants have deserted the church of Rome, yet their ministry, its call, and ordination, and its practice and maintenance, have a dependency upon the church of Rome, as being the original of that which is by them therein practised, though in some things deviated from the perfect form and practice thereof. And also the whole

worship, all the particulars in relation to the Protestant church, and ministry, and worship, have a dependence upon the church of Rome, as being the first original thereof. And though they cry against her and her ministers, and have denied her, yet is she the mother from whom proceeded the Protestant church, ministry,worship, and practices; and this may be manifest at full that the Protestant's church, ministry, and worship, chiefly taste and savour of the church and worship of Rome, and had their original out of her. And also further may be showed, that the Protestant church, and worship, and ministry, are not another in nature and being, than the Romish church, ministry, and worship, but are sprung therefrom as branches out of the same root, the ground being one and the same though differing in appearance. For in her beginning and first dissenting from the Romish church, she did not deny her in ground and being, as not being at all the church of Christ, but only in some particulars dissented, always, then and to this day, retaining divers of their practices in worship and church government; which shows that the Protestant church is not perfectly another, nor her ministry, government, and worship another; but the same in ground and being, only digressed and deviated in particulars. And this may be fully manifest in season, that the Protestant church, and worship, and ministry, are sprung of the Romish church, as a branch out of her, not contrary to her, nor against her; and all these things is the Lord discovering and laying open, that nations and peoples may come to behold the mother of harlots, that mystery of iniquity, and all her children, and may see the state and turning of times and things, ever since the days of the apostles and true churches; and that all these divers sects, and all these churches, falsely so called, are risen up one out of another, from one seed and womb, and though diverse in appearances, and sundry in practices and professions, yet are they all one in the ground and nature, sprung from the mother of harlots all of them, and are her children. And she hath corrupted the earth with her fornications and whoredoms, and made nations and kingdoms drunk with her cup of idolatry; but the Lord God is risen and will plead with her, and give her double, and the holy prophets and apostles shall rejoice over her: and this is coming to pass, and this I have seen from the Lord, and received it from him, and thus it came upon me to write.

The waters have I seen dried up, the seat of that great whore,
Who hath made all nations drunk, through her enticing power;
And caused the whole earth she hath, her fornication cup to take,
Whereby nations have long time err'd, on whom she long hath sat;
But peoples many are and shall, and multitudes all may,

And nations be converted all, unto another way;

And tongues they are confounded now, and kindreds they must mourn,
And when this all is finished, her whole seat then is torn;
For these all be the great waters, on whom her seat hath been,
And over whom she governed hath, like as a stately queen;
For ages many by-past gone, she hath her whoredoms play'd,
And kingdoms hath bewitched, which have her power obey'd,
But now her miseries are seen, her witchcrafts are discover'd,
And she no more shall men deceive; for day light is appeared:
And the bed woful I have seen, of torments great prepar'd,

Whereon she must be cast, and plagues must not to her be spared, But wo to her! the cup of wrath, is fill'd her to receive,

And as to others she hath done, the same she now shall have:
And drink she must of that full cup of God's fierce indignation,
And then shall all her lovers mourn, and make great lamentation,
And I have seen that city great, once populous, rich, and fair,
Laid waste, and all destroyed, and her merchants in despair,
Who through her have gotten gain, themselves for to exalt,
And from afar to traffic come; but now they must lament,
For fire in her is kindled, which must her all consume,

Behold, her smoke ascendeth, day and night, up to heaven.
The antichrist who hath put on, and cover'd with sheep's clothing,
And long rul'd king, on nations, inwardly ravening;

Who hath devour'd God's heritage, and had a kingdom great,
I have seen him made war against, and truth give him defeat.
Behold, the whore! her flesh is burnt, her beauty doth now fall,

She that is all harlots' great mother, whose daughters are whores all, Behold the city great, who once made nations rich and high,

She's fallen to the ground and burnt, and none more profit her by, Behold the antichrist once great, his kingdom is subduing,

The Lord alone for ever will rule, his son's kingdom is coming; And the woman that long hath fled, into that place of mourning, And rested in the wilderness, she is again returning,

And her seed is again springing, and shall replenish nations,

And the man-child must come to rule, forever through generations;
And when this all is come to pass, Oh! then rejoice and sing,
Ye prophets and apostles all, and heavenly children,

When God hath you avenged, upon your enemies all,
Then is the day of praises, for saints both great and small.
By a servant of Christ,

London, the Ninth-mo. 1658.

EDWARD BURROUGH.

HERE are the principles of priests, and professors, and pastors in the apostacy, who have got up since the days of the apostles, that in this day are risen against the lamb, and against the saints. For since

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the days of the apostles, the beast hath had power, the false prophet, and mother of harlots, which inwardly ravened from the spirit of God, which have had the sheep's clothing, and by that means have deceived the nations, and got in the kings of the earth, and clothed them with the outside, whereby the kings of the earth, and the beast, and false prophet, dragon, devil, mother of harlots, and the great whore have joined together in one against the saints, overcome them, and cast them into prison, and drunk the blood of the saints, and prophets, and martyrs. But now shall the saints and the lamb have the victory, who kills. and slays with the sword, which are the words of his mouth. Agreeably to the apostle's doctrine, who wrestle not with flesh and blood.' Now the beast, false prophet, and mother of harlots, devil, and antichrist, that have drunk the blood of the saints, that have the sheep's clothing, these are the killers with the sword, the slayers with the sword, the imprisoners and persecutors; which was not the work of the true apostles, true ministers, that kept the faith and patience of Jesus. The martyrs, the saints, and the prophets suffered. Now these were in the spirit that gave forth the scriptures, but the others got the scriptures: antichrists, false prophets, mother of harlots, the devil, the beast, and all his names, which killed and slew with the sword; these are inwardly ravening from the spirit of God, the spirit of the lamb, the spirit of the apostle, who killed and slew with the sword, which are the words of his mouth.' So all these names, in the whole christendom amongst all that are called christians, are got up amongst them since the days of the apostles, which are gone out of the life, and faith, and spirit they were in, which they had unity in, which was the bond of peace. These have had the words, but ravened from the life, and so are all on heaps about the words, and giving one another names. So look in whole christendom and see what abundance of names there are, which should be one family; and all these names, horns, and crowns, and building up and throwing down, are all a mark among them that have had the words but were out of the life, which life now is risen, which the apostles lived in, which they since the days of the apostles have been out of, in many names and heaps, in the apostacy. Now with the life is all this fathomed and comprehended, in which is the unity, which life brings people to know God, and unity with him, and with scriptures, and one with another; and all are one here, if there be ten thousand times ten thousand. And ye who read over this book may read and see things which you never read nor saw printed. Did ever the lambs worry the wolves? And did not the wolves get the sheep's clothing, and raven after the sheep and lambs, that they might get among them? Pride, and wildness, and pleasure have swallowed up people, teachers, and ministers, that if any be sober and still, presently he is a Quaker! and thus modestly is eaten up.

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