abound in the nation; and yet you will profess yourselves to be the members of Jesus Christ and had Jesus Christ ever such a body as this? Nay, all that are members of him, are of one heart, and one soul.

“And you talk of a communion of saints: had ever the saints such a communion as this, to defraud one another for money; and profess a Redeemer, and are servants to the devil, and your own lusts, in all the motions and temptations thereof, and are led captive at his will? But what redemption is this you witness, so long as sin, the partition wall, is between God and you, and stands still whole in your wills; you will be drunk, swear, lie, and commit adultery, dissemble, and satisfy your lusts in all things, and say we are redeemed; yet commit all these abominations, and live in them, under a pretence of a profession, and going to the idols temple once a week. Did ever Jesus Christ redeem such a people, or dwell in such a people? Those whom he hath redeemed, he hath freed from the servitude of sin, by separating them from sin, and reconciling them to God, from whence they are fallen by sin; for God and sin cannot dwell in one. And to such he saith, "Be ye holy, for I am holy:" and as he is the "Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world:" now see, how are your sins taken away, when the kingdom of darkness doth wholly rule in you,

"For

and leads you into works and ways of darkness? Are you reconciled to God, and have you fellowship with him? Are not you yet strangers to him, and worship an unknown God? he that commits sin, hath not seen him, neither known him," and so worship they know not what, in formal and superstitious worships."

Thus J. Nayler wrote: but I now break off that I may not be tedious.

So zealous was he before his fall; which was wholly of another nature than the common sins and transgressions; for by the wiles of satan, he accepted the idolatrous honour that some persons gave him, instead of which he ought to have reproved them: and thus was he so stupified in his understanding, that he imagined the bowing and kneeling before him, was not done on account of his person, but for Christ: and with this false opinion he blinded himself for a time, till it pleased God to pity him, and to give him light again, after he had suffered such an unheard-of punishment for his transgression, as is already related in this history. And because his freedom of speech against unrighteousness of all sorts, and his preaching, ran very sharp upon all, several were angry with him, became his enemies, and took occasion from his crime to revenge themselves fiercely upon him, by making him suffer a cruel punish

ment, which was no ways proportionable to his transgression. But herein barbarous cruelty played its part so much, that the soberest inhabitants did detest it, and therefore a petition was presented to the parliament, desiring a discharge of part of the punishment, of which, the first subscriber was colonel Scroop, who was governor of Bristol.

While he lay in the house of correction, he wrote several papers to manifest his regret and repentance for his crime; some of which are already inserted in this history. Since, is come to my hand a letter to his friends, being written with his own hand, to this purport:

"Dear brethren,

"My heart is broken this day for the offence that I have occasioned to God's truth and people, and especially to you, who in dear love followed me, seeking me in faithfulness to God, which I rejected, being bound wherein I could not come forth, till God's hand brought me, to whose love I now confess; and I beseech you, forgive wherein I evilly requited your love in that day. God knows my sorrow for it, since I see it, that ever I should offend that of God in any, or reject his counsel; and now that paper you have seen lies much upon me, and I greatly fear farther to offend, or do amiss, whereby the

innocent truth, or people of God should suffer, or that I should disobey therein.

"Unless the Lord himself keep you from me, I beseech you let nothing else hinder your coming to me, that I might have your help in the Lord in the mercies of Christ Jesus this I beg of you, as if it was your own case, let me not be forgotten of you.

"And I entreat you, speak to Henry Clarke, or whoever else I have most offended; and by the power of God, and in the spirit of Christ Jesus, I am willing to confess the offence, that God's love may arise in all hearts, as before, if it be his will, who only can remove what stands in the way; and nothing thereof do I intend to cover; God is witness herein.

He wrote also several other confessions of his faults about this time, in one of which, amongst others, I find these words;

"And concerning you, the tender plants of my Father, who have suffered through me, or with me, in what the Lord hath suffered to be done with me, in this time of great trial and temptation; the Almighty God of love, who hath numbered every sigh, and put every tear in his bottle, reward it a thousand fold into your bosoms, in the day of your need, when you shall come to be tried and tempted; and in

the mean-time fulfil your joy with his love, which you seek after. The Lord knows, it was never in my heart to cause you to mourn, whose suffering is my greatest sorrow that ever yet came upon me, for you are innocent herein."

When he had finished that letter, and set his name, he wrote as follows:

"I beseech you (all that can) to receive it, even as you would be received of the Lord; and for the rest, the Lord give me patience to suffer, till he make up the breach."

While he was in Bridewell, he wrote to the parliament, who had punished him as a blasphemer, to let them know what his true opinion concerning Jesus Christ was.

"Christ Jesus, (the Immanuel, of whose sufferings the Scriptures declare) him alone I confess before men; for whose sake I have denied whatever was dear to me in this world, that I might win him, and be found in him, and not in myself, whose life and virtue I find daily manifest in my mortal body (which is my eternal joy and hope of glory) whom alone I seek to serve in spirit, soul and body, night and day, (according to the measure of grace working in