CALLED in the light of the Lord to stand living witnesses for him upon the earth among the children of men: oh! the bowels of the love of the Lord which is in my heart to you, that when I was near to death, to the sight of all that saw me, as to the outward man, and scarce able to speak, I was constrained to give forth the substance of what is now sent among you, for a perfect discovery of your conditions. Seeing that many are called and few chosen, and many convinced that are not converted; therefore are these lines written, that you may truly know whether you be born again, and redeemed from the earth, yes or no.
And unto that, let every man and woman search their hearts with the light of the Lord, and it will truly manifest whether you are born again, and so feed upon the tree of life, or whether you rest in outward formal conformity to the Truth, having the heart in the earth, for that spirit will turn against Truth, as it has done. Some others are drawn to delight their hearts in the gifts, parts, and knowledge, which the Lord has given them, more than in the Lord, the fountain from where they come; and so abuse the gift, and feed upon the fruit of the tree of knowledge which puffs up, and makes man wise in his own eyes, and to say in his heart,—'I am wise and rich, and see, and want nothing,' when they are blind, miserable, naked, and need all things. Whatever any profess, as to the service of God, that are in this condition, they have an end to themselves in what they do, which grieves the Spirit of the Lord, when men and women in a talkative spirit take upon them to declare the Truth, when the Lord neither calls them, nor speaks by them; so the children born of the royal seed are burdened, (for such have turned against the Truth, and the children born of it), whom the Lord has and will ease in the day determined, when all mouths shall be closed in silence, but those which are opened by him, and not any voice be heard, but his own Spirit speaking in and through his own children, born of him, who alone seek his glory, and not anything for themselves, which must be denied. Therefore, seeing the enemy's wiles are great and many, let all dread the Lord; and those who have been led astray, wait in the heart-searching light, to see where the mystery of iniquity led them forth, and return to the light, to judge down proud exalted self which has turned against the Truth, and to bring into true poverty and abhorring of self; waiting at the throne of grace, for the Lord to raise you up in the resurrection which raised up Jesus from the dead; and in this life, contentious self is buried in death, and the true unity is known, where the Lord alone is exalted in purity, joy, love, and peace in all his, from the least to the highest growth, and all flesh is abased before him, who is worthy of all obedience, praise, and glory forever, Amen.
And all dear Friends and Brethren that love the light, and rejoice in the judgments of the Lord, to have subtle self buried in the true death, that whatsoever gifts of the Spirit the Lord gives unto you, and the enemy tempts you ever so strongly to puff you up in a self-priding spirit, in what you have received of the Lord; yet his fear is so minded by you, which keeps you in a true sense of your nothingness and emptiness in yourselves, which causes you to wait in true self-denial, for the daily assistance, and renewal of your strength in the resurrection of life in the Lord Jesus; and the more he manifests his power with you, the more empty and nothing you appear in your own eyes. And so is the true birth known, which makes self of no reputation, that the Lord may be exalted in his unlimited power, in manifesting himself in the poverty, emptiness, and nothingness of his people who are born of him, that no flesh may glory before him; but that all in truth say,—'The Lord does all in me, and through me, and the Lord shall have the glory; and I will sit in the dust at his feet with all my brethren and sisters, to serve him (through whom we are raised up to sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus), and his people, in what I may, while I have a being among the sons of men, to the glory of his name forever.' And this is the state of the true disciples of Christ that cannot feed on the fruit of the tree of knowledge, although in your journey and travels, dear vessels of the Lord, you see the tree of knowledge to be good, where it stands in its place, but the fruit is not good to eat and feed upon, because knowledge puffs up, but grace makes humble.
Therefore, dear Brethren and Sisters, born of God, who cannot live in any enjoyment, but as you enjoy the life and presence of God, from where every good and perfect gift comes; and, dear lambs, although some of you be, in your own eyes, the poorest among the people of the Lord; yes, sometimes your trials are so great, that you are ready to account yourselves unworthy to be numbered among the people of the Lord, and yet you dare not disobey him, neither can you live without his presence:—Oh, you dear children of God! lift up your heads over all temptations and accusations of the enemy; for your groans and cries are entered into the ears of the Lord God, who in the bowels of his love and mercies does constrain me to proclaim the day of the tender compassion of the Lord, to all you who are truly poor in your spirits. Oh! blessed are you among the children of men, for yours is the kingdom of God:—therefore be not weary of waiting upon the Lord, for in his own time he will turn your sorrows into joy, and give to you the spirit of praises for the spirit of heaviness, as he has done to many who have endured the like temptations, trials, and sufferings, under which you wait this day for deliverance; and the Lord will be the same to you. Therefore be of good comfort; for as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so is the Son of Man lifted up in the light and covenant of life, to heal your wounds, and save you from sin, and to give you victory over the enemy in all his appearances; so that you, through faith in the name of Christ, making war in righteousness, and fighting the good fight in keeping the faith, will be made more than conquerors through his love that he will shed abroad in your hearts, which will cause you to speak of his goodness, and praise his name for all his mercies.
And all dear children of the Lord, who witness in measure that you are truly baptized into his death, and so are made partakers of his resurrection, as is before written, which is the life that worships him according to his own will, and so is truly accepted of him,—watch and pray, that you may be guided in the power of his Spirit in all your ways; and be careful that not any be hasty to utter words before the Lord, neither suffer any sighs or groans, or anything to be heard to pass through you, but as you have the seal of the Spirit of the Lord, that he requires it of you; this I am commanded to lay as a charge upon you, that so all flesh may be truly silent before the Lord, and not any voice be heard, but the living Spirit of the Lord speaking in his people, which, you that wait in the fear of the Lord, and mind his leadings, may truly know; as it is written, so do his children witness,—'He that has my word, said the Lord, let him speak my word faithfully; is not my word like a fire and a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?' Therefore, all mind to feel the word of the Lord speaking in you, that the pure burning life of the Spirit may be tasted and felt in whatsoever you be exercised in, that so you may be fully assured it is not your own work, as man speaking of God, but the Lord alone uttering his own voice in the forcible power of his own Spirit, in what you are exercised in, whether it be to pray in sighs, or groans, or in words, or to speak in exhortation or praises. You are not to quench the Spirit of the Lord in this his day, that he is come and does appear, in giving diverse gifts unto his people, in his appearance, as he did among his disciples who waited at Jerusalem for the pouring forth of his Spirit from on high; but they that were strangers to the work of the Spirit, could not taste the life that spoke in them, but said, they were mad, and full of new wine; but the Lord justified them, it being the work of his own Spirit, and although he gave unto them various gifts, yet all in the unity of himself, in which they sacrificed, in returning to the Lord his own with advantage, to the glory of his great name, as his children do this day. Blessed be his name forever, that out of the mouths of babes his praise is declared, in their measures, as it is with those of higher growth in the Lord; and so do the faithful laborers reap the fruit for which they travail, that all the people of the Lord may be filled with his Spirit, and in the exercise and leadings thereof, become a body of living ministers, and a family of prophets; the strong leading the weak by the hand and in tender love, building up one another in their most holy faith, which gives the victory over the world, to reign in the heavenly dominion, which causes the children of the Most High, in the authority of the Lord, to say to the greatest persecutors,—'0h man! do what you have power, the God whom we serve is able to deliver us out of your hand; but if he will not, we are resolved in his strength to suffer what he permits man to do;' and this is the holy resolution of all that are born again, and cannot hide your heads in the time of persecution, because you are born of the royal seed, and have overcome the beggarly, cowardly, earthly spirit, through the blood of the Lamb, and the word of your testimony, and no more love your lives unto death.
And all dear chosen vessels of the Lord, seeing he has manifested his grace so largely to you, with all diligence be obedient in walking suitably to his love and mercy received; that as living witnesses for God, you may shine forth in the beauty of holiness in all your ways. And be careful in keeping your meetings at the time appointed, every one endeavoring to be the first at the meeting, that so not any give way to a careless spirit, as some have done, and come to meetings when others have been a considerable time together, and so become a burden to the diligent and obedient servants of the Lord; thus, the meetings are not so profitable to your comfort, as when you meet diligently at the time, waiting in the fear of the Lord to feel his sweet presence, which will keep you awake in the life of his own Spirit, to the glory of his name, and the comfort of one another, which will cause you to prize the opportunities God gives to you, not knowing how soon you may be deprived of them. And be tender one over another, and watch over one another with a pure single eye, and every one see the beam cast out of your own eye, before you go to spy a speck in others; and if any brother or sister offend, you that know, speak to them privately, in all tenderness, to restore them; and this know, ' whoever turns a sinner from the error of his ways, saves a soul from death, and hides a multitude of sins.' But if they will not hear, take two or three more, and speak to them again in the spirit of meekness, waiting, and seeking the Lord for their recovery; but if they will not hear, but persist in wickedness, then acquaint the church, whom the Lord in his wisdom will order to deal with them for his own glory.
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