A1r p:lwalton.nen1 characterobscured 12th booke 1

This
Was Given To
Major
Generall Harrison
And The
Rest.

Read this in the Fear of the
Lord, and in the moderation of Your spirits,
without prejudice.

Friends,

This is the day of your visitation, while ye
have time prize it; God hath long holden
forth a hand of love unto you, though you
have for several years past slighted and rejected
his council, and would have none of his
wayes, “Who is the eternal Light, the way,
the truth, and the Life”
, and there is no other way nor name
under Heaven by which any shall be saved, or come to the
knowledge of the eternal Truth as it is in Jesus, but by the
Light of Christ Jesus in whom is Life, and this Life is the
Light of men
, and though you have slighted this, and looked
upon it as too mean and low, yet this ye must stoop unto,
and come to, if ever you find peace and reconciliation with
the Lord God, ye must have it in the Light which bears A testi- A1v 2
testimony against all the works and deeds of darknesse;
and if ever ye come to know or witnesse Life and immortality
to be brought to Light
thorow the Gospel of Jesus,
which is glad tydings to the poor, and liberty to the captive,
then must you come to the Light of Jesus that shines
in your Consciences, for his Immortality dwells in the Light,
and the knowledg of him, and the witnesse that every one
can bear of him in the real truth, is in the Light that shines
in their Consciences, and in this knowledge is “Life eternal
to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath
sent a”
Light into the world, who hath said, “He that knows
me, knows him that sent me; I am come a Light, that he
that believes on me should not perish, but have everlasting life”
;
and this is the record that he hath given us of his Son, even
eternal life, and this life is in his Son, which is now risen
in his brightnesse, and shining in the Consciences of men,
and he is purging the Conscience from dead works to serve
the living God, which all the types and the figures could not
make any thing perfect as pertaining to the conscience, No
not the Tabernacle, nor the Golden Pot in which was the
Manna, they were but a shaddow of the good things to come,
the body and substance is Christ, which makes clean the inside
who is King of the Jews, not outward but inward, and
the Minister of that Circumcision which is of the heart, which
worships him in the Spirit and in the Truth, having not
confidence in the flesh; and this is that you must all stoop
to, if ever ye know or be partakers of the precious faith,
which was once delivered to the Saints, which we are contending
for, and are to contend for, even to the giving up
our lives, and our desire is that ye might partake with us,
and tast of that love which is in Christ Jesus, which neithetr
heigth nor depth, tribulation, nor anguish, Principalityes nor
powers, life nor death can sepatrate from, and that you might
partake of our life which is hid with Christ in God, is the desire
of our soules, though you have long slighted the day of
your visitation, and often rejected the council of the Lord,
and counted the Light a mean and a contemptible thing, by A2r 3
by which the Lord God doth and ever will teach his people;
and this testimony I bear unto you in the presence of
the Lord God, though you may esteem high of your selves,
and of your knowledge, “the living and the eternal God ye doe
not know as he is, but as ye know him in the light, for his immortality
dwells in the light”
, and if ye know him where he
dwells, ye must know him in the Light, and if ye be the
Children of the Lord, and taught of the Lord, ye must be
taught by the Light of him in your Consciences, and if ye be
established in righteousnesse you must be established in the
Light, and if ye be far from oppression, ye must be found in
the Light, and if you will be where your peace will be great
ye must dwell in the Light, and if while ye have the Light
ye beleeve in the Light, ye may may be the children of the
Light, and this is Christs own words and exhortations whom
ye highly profess, & yet slight his own words & exhorration;
Oh! Friends, what wil profession of him in words outwardly do
for you now in the time of your distresse and sad affliction,
when that faith is wanting which stands in the power, and
works by love, and is held in the mistery of a pure Conscience,
which I know eternally never a one of you can witnesse
who denyes the Light of Jesus that cleanseth the Conscience,
which every one must walk in; which brings into the fellowship
one with another, where “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
from all sin”
; and what will your justification, in that one
act which you speak of, which was offered up at Jerusalem,
now do for you when you want your seal and your testimony
of your being justified by it in your Consciences? if ye
have not your particular assurance, by being purged purifyed,
and sanctified, and so justified in your own conscience?
what will that Act doe for a defiled Conscience? what
will that act do for an unclean and an unsanctified heart
being that he which was offered up at Jerusalem once for all,
thorow the eternall Spirit, is now risen in his Spirit and
Light, in the hearts and Consciences of men, there to cleanse
and to purge, and to wash by his own blood, and so to justifie
and give assurance, “that whosoever believes on him should A2 be A2v 4
be saved and have everlasting life”
, now what will your professing
and talking of this act doe for you, while you are
slighting and disobeying, and transgressing against the Light
(which should give you testimony and true assurance) to your
justification, and should purifie your hearts by faith,
for it is by the faith of the Son of God, which is Light and
Life that the just lives, its not profession, or high notions by
which the Just lives, its not brain wisdom nor comprehension
in the understanding that raises the dead, it was that that
crucified the Just; but it is the voyce of the Son of God that
raises the dead, and there’s nothing that will avail in this day
of the Lord but this new-creature, the image of the invisible
God, the first begotten from the dead, and he that doth not
witnesse this state will suffer losse, for when his work is
tryed by the fire it will be burned; and though men may speak
with the tongues of men and Angels, and want that love that
passeth knowledge, it is but as the sounding brasse, and tinckling
cymball”
, and so it will passe away and be no more seen;
Nay further then that, though there may be prophesies and
faith that could remove Mountains, and want this love that
gives obedience, and keeps the Commandements of the
Lord it is nothing; though they may give their goods to the
poor, and their bodies to be burned, it is nothing while they
doe not keep the Commandements of the Lord but slights
his tenders of love, and his gracious mercies, and is exalted
in a notion, in a conceiving or apprehension of a thing, and
wants the sound and sure testimony of the thing it self; in this
they are utterly betrayd; though they may say or apprehend
that their name is written in Heaven, yet if this Heaven
be farre off them they may misse of their Name, “For Satan
falls from Heaven like lightning”
; He that can receive it let
him; There’s none that enters into the Holy City, but whose
name is written in the “Lambs book of Life, slain from the
foundation of the world”
, and this Name is written in Heaven,
and here is Joy witnessed and the Song of Moses and
the Lamb, but this state is redeemed from the earth,
and so the offering up of the naturall life in this state is
little.

Now A3r 5

Now the desire of my heart is that you had faith in God,
and might see your selves in the condemnation, and feele
the hand of his Justice and Judgement, and that you are not
come to this condition without the power and providence,
and permission of the Lord, that so you may be received into
his bosome and mercy; for undoubtedly the same God as
brought you to the seat of Justice, formerly has also brought
you now to the Judgment, therefore now fall down under the
hand of his Justice; whose hand of mercy is holden forth
unto you; and consider what great mercy you have abused,
and opportunities of doing him service; and how you
have betrayed him and his cause into the hands of sinners;
and how you have incurred his Just hand of recompence
upon your heads; oh consider what yee have done against
the Lord, what a great power you have abused, “and turned
the sword against the Innocent”
, that should have
been for the evill doer, and slighted and contemned
his living truth, and held up a rotten deceitfull profession
which now will faile you in the day of your troubles
and tryalls; one houre of worshipping the Lord God
in his Eternall light and Spirit of Eternall life, were of more
value to you then all your dayes and nights, that you have
spent in prayers, and teares, and cryes, whilest your hearts
are corrupted, and your Consciences defiled, and your
minds carnall, where the Enmity stands against God and
his Truth, which is not sbject to the Law of God, neither
indeed can be, but weepes Esaus teares, and so must have
Esaus portion; you’l thinke this is hard, but truely you
will finde it truth, and you will finde that all your goodnesse
will passe away as the Early due, and your righteousnesse
as the filthy raggs. But I feele something objecting
in your minds, as if this might be a discouragement
to you in your Condition; I answer, no; It’s the hand of
his love is reached out unto you, and his bosome of love
stands open unto you, to receive you into his mercy, if
you would turne in your minds to the living witnesse of the
living God in your Consciences, to which you must stand or A3v 6
or fall; This is the word which must Judge every one
of you in the last day, and this is the word that reconciles
unto God, and this is his name (who had his vesture dipt
in blood) to which every knee must bow, and every tongue
confesse; and if yee stand committed to this immortall
and Eternall ingrafted word, this is able to save your soules;
therefore to this word of faith which is nigh in the heart,
which faith, Neither ascend nor descend, but preaches righteousnesse
very nigh; to this come though it were the last
day that yee had to live
; the call of this is not in vaine, you
will find more comfort in turning in your minds unto this,
and joyning your hearts and minds to this living Immortall
word in your hearts
; I say, you will finde more comfort being
with this if it were but one houre, then yee have done
with roving and rambling after things without you, and ascending
and descending in your Immaginations, apprehensions,
and comprehensions all the dayes of your life; and whether
yee can believe or no, this you shall finde to be Eternall
truth, “and it’s Gods love unto you, and Gods motion” that is
the cause of writing this, whether you can can receive it or
no, whose mercy and long suffering continues unto you;
and truely you cannot plead ignorance, nor deny but you
have had many gracious invitations and tenders of his love.
Oh that you would consider in this your day the things that
belongs to your everlasting peace, and that you would turne
unto him that hath smitten you, who has brought salvation
neere, and is bringing forth righteousnesse as a light, and
thither must you come if ever you finde peace with the
Lord, yee must come to his swift witnesse that testifies against
all your wayes, and all your worships, and your best
actions, that have not been acted from the light, is for condemnation
with the light; for he is neere that condemnes,
and he is neere that justifies, and then who can condemne,
for God is greater who is one with him that justifies every
one; “and if the heart condemne, God is also greater”, and so to
this Master must you either stand or fall; if this righteous
Judge condemne yee are condemned, and if this justifie, then A4r 7
then are you justified before the Lord; and if this righteous,
just and faithfull witnesse in you plead your Cause,
and you come to be tryed and proved, searched and examined
by this witnesse, and you freely submit to the Judgement
of this, and what this condemns condemne, and what
this Justifies Justifie no more, and owne no more to be truth
but what this righteous witnesse of God in you presents to
be truth; here you will come to a cleare conviction, and
this will also worke your conversion, and change your minds,
and redeeme you up to God, and there you will see when
you are with God, and with his true and faithfull witnesse in
you, and that there all things is possible, and so your minds
will be changed, out of the visible perishing beggerly rudiments
of outward worships, which perishes in the using of
them, while they are performed by an unsanctified and an
uncircumcised heart; and you will come into the invisible
life. And so here I have set before you “life and death, light
and darknesse, good and evill”
, the righteous God is separating
betwixt the precious and the vile, betwixt him that serveth
God and him that serveth him not, by his quicke and
living powerfull word, “which is sharper then any two edged
sword, to the discerning of the secret intents of the heart”
;
and unto this word which will give life unto your soules,
which he that believes on, “though he were dead, yet shall he
live”
, unto him that is the resurrection, and the life, I commit
you and commend you; and consider that this spirit will not
alwayes strive with man.

I am a true lover of all your soules, and desires
your Eternall peace and comfort of the Lord,
who feeles the weight of your sufferings and travells,
with the seed of the Covenant, who am
knowne by outward name;

Margret Fell.

London; Printed for Thomas Simmons, at the Bull and
Mouth
neare Aldersgate. 16601660.