DEar Tender-hearted Ones, who have felt the Di­vine Call of the Father's Love, and have now turned your Faces Sion-ward, doth my Love flow forth unto you from the Fontain and Ocean of End­less Life and Love, which at this time constrains me thus to write unto you, knowing right well, that the Exercises and Tryals you are passing through, and the Besettings of the Enemy, that ye may meet withal, are many, since your Faces have been turned Zion-ward, and since you have Abandoned and Forsaken E­gypts Glory, and are now come down from the Moun­tains of Prey, having seen the Excellency and Beauty that is in him alone, who hath called you with a Holy [Page 2] Call unto Meekness and Lowliness of Mind, saying, Learn of me, for I am meek and Lowly in Heart, and you shall find Rest unto your Souls: Which in measure you will come to witness, as through Obedience you have learned of him, and with Faithfulnes, have obeyed his Voice. For no otherwayes can you ever come to witness Peace with him, but through Hearkening unto his Voice, and faith­fully Obeying the same. And thus you will come to be Children of Faithful Abraham, who was ready to offer up his only Son Isaac at Gods Call, not staggering at the Promise, but firmly believing him that had promised, whose Faith was accounted unto him for Righteousness.

Let none therefore have an Heart of Unbelief, and distrust the Lord, and say, Can the Lord furnish a Table in the Wilderness? Can he prepare Bread there? Nor let any think the Time Long, or the Way Tedious, wherein the Lord leads you; For he that believeth maketh not Haste. But let your Eye be unto him alone, who turneth the Rock into a Standing Water, and the Flint into a Foun­tain of Waters; who will give Bread to the Hungry, and Water to the Thirsty Souls in his due Time. For there was a time, when the Lord Proved and Tryed Is­rael of Old; who will also Prove and Try you. There­fore take heed, that you Murmur not under the same, lest, like Israel, you Grieve the Lord, and he cause you to fall short of the Promised Land. For you must not ex­pect, because you are come out of Egypt, and have seen the Wonders of the Lord in the Deep, and have sung the Song of Moses, that all is over: For there is a Wil­derness yet to pass through, and a Swelling Jordan to pass over, before you will come to the Promised Land. I write not this to discourage any, but that none might take up a false Rest, or sit down by the way, and so fall [Page 3] short of that Rest which many are entred into, and made Possessors off. But that all might be of that Excellent Spirit, as Caleb and Joshua were of, who inherited the Promised Land by following the Lord faithfully, and with full Purpose of Heart; notwithstanding they saw many Thousands fall, and Perish in the Wilderness by reason of their Disobedience towards God.

And be sure, that no Singularity be embraced or walked in by you; for that will lead to make Rents and Divisi­ons in the Camp of the Lord, as some of that Spirit in dayes past did, who said, Hath the Lord only spoke by Mo­ses? You Moses and Aaron, you take too much upon you; for the Congregation is all Holy, and the Lord is among them. Wherefore then lift you up your selves above the Congregation of the Lord? But what befel these Opposers of Moses and Aaron? The Earth opened, and swallowed them up in the sight of the People: And the Earthly Part hath swallowed and will swallow up all such Opposers. Wherefore let all be Warned of these things, and Watch against them in the Light, which discovers the Wiles of the E­nemy: and take heed, lest any of you also should come to be led away with the Error of the Wicked, and so fall from your own Stedfastness, and there by come to lose that Simplicity in the Truth which you once enjoyed. But let Others Harms make you to be the more Vigilant, and Beware. For all these things were written for your Lear­ning, and your Instruction, that ye might not Tempt and Provoke the Lord, as they did, with whom the Lord was grieved Forty Years long, so that he sware in his Wrath, That they should not enter into his Rest.

And let none look at the swelling Jordan, or the Migh­ty Sons of Anak, nor at the Fenced and Walled Cities; For the Willing and the Obedient shall inherit, and dwell in, and [Page 4] eat the Good of the Land. Wherefore let all be encouraged to Travel on; for they that Endure to the End, shall reap the End of their Faith, the Salvation of their Souls. Therefore let none faint, nor look at their own Weakness, but let them keep their Eye unto the Lord, who is faithful to perform, what he has promis'd and spoken by the Mouth of his Pro­phet, who said, To you that fear my Name, shall the Sun of Righ­teousness arise with Healing in his Wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as Calves in the Stall; and ye shall tread down the Wicked, for they shall be Ashes under the Soals of your Feet. So as you dwell & patiently wait in God's Fear, ye will come to witness the fulfilling of these things in your Measures: For it is the Fear of God that keepeth the Heart clean, and is the Beginning of true Wisdom. And as you dwell in that, you will be made able stedfastly to resist the Enemy of your Souls, when-ever he appears to draw you into Evil, say­ing unto him, How shall I do this Evil, and sin against the Lord? So, the Lord being alwayes thus set before you, ye need not fear: for the Wicked One can never touch you, while ye stand thus in an holy Awe of Offending the Lord. But if you are not Vigilant, and alwayes Watching in the Light, the Enemy will soon prevail, and take you Captive again: For he goes about like a Roaring Lyon, seeking whom he may de­vour: Whose Snares and subtil Devices are so many, that none can escape them, but those who thus wait and watch against them in the Light.

Wherefore, Dear Hearts, Put on the whole Armour of Light, and in that Light which convinced you all, walk and dwell, and it will bring you unto the perfect Day, in which is no Darkness; and thus you will be Witnesses of the Just Man's Path, which is as a shining Light, which shines more and more unto the perfect Day. So all that come to walk in this Light, will see more Light, as one did who said, [Page 5] In thy Light shall I see more Light. And so as this Light in­creases, Darkness will decrease: for when the Perfect Day is come, then Darkness is fled away.

And hither must all the Nations come, that are sa­ved to walk in the Light, which the Lord will send forth more and more, that those who are yet under the Region and Shadow of Death, may come to behold it, and the Glory and Excellency that is in it, which is the Glory, as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth, which a Remnant are come to behold, Glory to God on high for evermore! For Light shineth in Darkness, though the Darkness cannot comprehend it, which we have believed in, and from whom we have received Power to become the Sons and Daugh­ters of God, who is Light, and in whom is no Dark­ness. neither any Variableness or Shadow of Turning, but the same Yester-day, to day and for ever.

And so, Dear Tender-Hearted Ones, Keep low in the Holy Truth of God, and that will be your Crown; for true and deep Humility is Real Christianity. For while ye are Meek and Lowly in Heart, ye will bear in your Bodies the Marks of the Lord Jesus, and then will it be seen, whose Disciples ye are. And while the meek Spirit of Jesus bears Rule in you, that will keep down all Hastiness, and Rash and Unadvised Words, which you are to dye daily unto, who would live with Christ for ever. Who when he was reviled, reviled not again, but when buffeted, said, Father, forgive them. Thus we are to have Christ for our Example; who dyed, that we should no more live unto our selves, but unto him that dyed for us, leaving us an Example, that we should follow his Steps, in whom was no Sin, neither was Guile found in his Mouth. For we are but [Page 6] as other People, except we live unto Christ, who dy­ed for us, the Benefit of whose Death none will reap, but such as live unto him, in whom we have believed; in whom is Life, and his Life is the Light of Men. And though to the Carnal Professors he is a stumbling-Block, and to the Learned (so accounted) Fo lishness, yet unto us that have believed, the Power and Wisdom of God.

So let all be content with, and faithful unto the Mea­sure of Gods Grace, that unto you hath appeared. And let the tender Mercies of God towards you be o [...]en in your Remembrance, that none, like Jesurun, wax fat, and kick against their Maker, and so through Disobedience loose the Enjoyment of his Presence, and then come to say, as Saul once did, The Lord is departed from me, and an­swereth me no more. But that you all, like faithful Jo­shua, may alwayes feel that Noble Resolution dwelling and abiding in your Hearts, I and my House will serve the Lord. For his Service is perfect Freedom unto those that abide therein, and desire to live in his Courts, esteeming one day there above a Thousand else-where.

And let Truth grow, and flourish in you, that you may be as Trees planted by the Water-Brook, whose Leaves are alwayes green bringing forth Fruit in due Season unto God, which must be Holiness, the End whereof will be Everlasting Life. For the Wages of Sin is Death, but the Gift of God, which you have believed in, is Eternal Life unto all that abide in the same. For you know right well that when you were Servants unto Sin, you were free from Righteousness; and what Fruit had you then in those things, whereof you are now ashamed? Therefore let not Sin reign in your Mortal Bodies, neither obey any, but resist and ab­stain [Page 7] from every Appearance thereof, and yield your­selves unto God, as those that are alive from the Dead, and your Members as Instruments of Righteousness unto him; and obey the Form of Doctrine, which hath been often delivered unto you by many of the Lord's Faith­ful Servants, who have not loved their Lives unto Death for the Truth and your Sakes, for whom they have travelled in Birth, that Christ might be formed in you; whom you ought to Honour and Esteem with double Honour in the Lord, whose Message they have with Faithfulness deli­vered unto you, Woing and Beseeching you in Christ's stead to be reconciled unto God, whose Will is your San­ctification.

Wherefore as you all have received Christ Jesus, so walk in him, not Adorning nor F [...]shioning your selves accor­ding to the World, which lies in Wickedness; but let your Ador­ning be the Meek Spirit and Self-denying Life of Jesus, bearing the Image of the Heavenly Man, as you have born the Image of the Earthly, which must be put off with his Deeds, before you can witn [...]ss to be cloathed with Zeal as a Cloak, and Righteousness as a Garment. And as your Lights thus shine before Men, your Heavenly Father will come to be Glorified; For herein is, and will he be Glorified, by your bringing forth much frui [...]. So be fr [...]it [...]ul, and always abounding in the Work o [...] the Lord, and your Labour will not be in vain in him, whose Mercies are over all his Works, and with-holds no Good Thing from those that w [...]lk Uprightly.

Now the God of Peace, that brought again from the Dead our Lord [...]esus Christ through the Blood of the Everlasting Co­venant, Sanctifie you throughout, and preserve you Blame­less, that you may be made Perfect in every Good Work [Page 8] to do his Will, working in you that which is Well-plea­sing in his Sight through Christ Jesus, in whom we have believed, is the Hearty Desire and Travel of