‘For God hath given us the witness of his eternal Spirit, that wrath is not in him towards us; his wrath be to his enemies, but unto us is joy and peace for evermore: and the Lord clears us, and he justifies us, who then shall condemn us? He chargeth no guilt upon us, as if we were unto ourselves the cause, by our evil deeds, of these our present sufferings, and as if this were come to pass upon us, as punishment from the hand of God: I say, it is not so; these our present sufferings are not out of God’s anger towards us, for his love is to us, let his wrath be to his enemies: and as I said, neither is this suffering in the justice of men; for unto all the world we can say, (and God himself shall plead our cause,) whom have we wronged or done evil to? What evil have we done to any man’s person? Whose goods have we falsely taken or coveted? Against whom have we designed mischief? Even the Lord himself be judge between us and our persecutors in this matter; for unto him we are known that we do desire the good of all, and not the hurt of any, and yet we are dealt with as evil-doers; when as the God of heaven is witness in our consciences, that we neither plot nor contrive, nor agitate in thought or word the hurt of any man’s person: but we walk justly towards all, it being our principle to do to others as we would be done unto; and we can plead our cause unto our God, and he shall plead our cause with our enemies, and this is the present state of our case; what we suffer at this time it is singly in the cause of God, and for righteousness-sake, and for the testimony of Jesus, which we hold; therefore freely let us commit our cause unto the God of heaven, and if we die, it is for him, and if we live, it is to him; and we seek not vengeance against our enemies, but leave it to the Lord to plead with them.
‘And, dearly beloved, I hope I need not exhort you to be patient and faithful in this day of our trial, knowing that the cause is so excellent in which we are tried, it is God’s cause and not our own; and I hope you all have the testimony of his Spirit in your consciences, verifying the truth of the cause for which we suffer; and having that evidence, we need not to be doubtful as towards God, nor ashamed before men, if so be that every one feels the evidence of the Spirit of God bearing witness, that we suffer for righteousness-sake, and for the name of Christ Jesus.
‘And so dear brethren, lift up your heads, and be assured, that we are the Lord’s, and in his cause we are tried, and he will judge and avenge our persecutors in his season, and we shall be a people when the Egyptians lie dead upon the sea-shore, and when the raging sea is dried up, this same people shall be safe; for hath the Lord done so excellent things for us? Hath he led us forth, and blessed us unto this day? And hath he preserved us hitherto through many tribulations and dangers? Hath he showed infinite love and favour unto us to this hour? And will he now suffer us to be destroyed from being a people? Surely no. Will he give our enemies their heart’s desire to cut us all off, that they may blaspheme his name? Surely no. And if it be the pleasure of the Lord, that some of us should seal our testimony with our blood, good is the will of the Lord; not ours, but his will be done; for the testimony that we have borne for these divers years, hath been so excellent in itself, and in its fruits and effects, that the finishing of it deserves the best seal that possibly we can sign it with, which is indeed our heart’s blood; and this dwells upon my spirit; and yet, though it should be thus, my confidence is sure, that the work of the Lord shall prosper, and our testimony shall be glorious for ever, and this people shall never be extinguished from being a people.
‘And I know not any thing that remains upon our part at this day, but that we commit ourselves into the hand of the Lord, living in the seed of God, wherein our election is sure, before the world was, and for ever; and let us remember one another, and pray one for another; and let us stir up all the children of our Father to faithfulness and patience, while we have time; I say, let us walk to the glory of the Lord, keeping faith and a good conscience to our last end; our testimony shall never die, nor our memories ever perish when we are ceased to be; and though we suffer now the loss of life, and all we have, yet the effects thereof will be glorious in ages to come, and our present sufferings will hasten the glory of God’s work throughout the world: receive this as my salutation to you all.
‘It is now eight days since I left Ireland, where my service hath been precious for the Lord for full six months, all which time the Lord carried me in much faithfulness and diligence in his service, to the confirming of many in the truth of God, and to the converting of others; and through and because of the presence of the Lord which was with me, I had a very precious time, and was wonderfully preserved through many dangers and trials; and I travelled near two thousand miles to and fro in that land, and had very free passage in the principal cities and towns, till my work for the present was fully ended there, having more time than could be expected to clear my conscience to all people. It would be too large to mention every particular transaction, wherein I perceived the eminent hand of God with me; and also many things I observed concerning the present state of things which I shall not mention; for what have we to do with the affairs of worldly kingdoms? But as for friends, it was well with them, they grow and increase in the blessings and fulness of the Father; and when I came thence all was quiet, and very few in prison, though, I suppose, the tidings of things as they are here, will produce the same sufferings upon them: but I hope they will be bold and valiant for the truth, in giving their testimony by faithful sufferings, till these things be finished.
‘Thus I remain in life and death, and when I am no more, in everlasting remembrance, your dear brother and companion, by doing and suffering for the name of the Lord and his truth. I am well, and at liberty, as yet.
E. B.’
11th of the Twelfth month, 1660.