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Show S94 1699· ~ Chap. I. Advice to Children. VoL. 1: fend his Spirit to convince the World of their Sins: ~herefore _that w~ic?convinces you and all People of their Sins! is the Spmt of Chuft: Tbts ts hi hl rized, Rom. s. as you m:1y read 111 that. great and fweer _Chap-te~ f~t pthe Children of God are l<d. by it. ThiS Reveals the Thmgs of God, that appertain roMan's. Salva.qon and Hap~mefs, as I Co,r. 2. 10, n, 12, It is the Earnclt God gtves bts "Feop_le, 2 Cor . .S'· 5, .It ts t4e ~~~at End and Benefit and Blelling of the Commg ofChnft, v1;;. Th.e {)umng forth of this Light and Pouring forth of thts ~~n~r.- ~ea, Chrtil IS not Received by them, ' that refiit his Ligl~t and Spmt tn theu _Heans; nor can the have rhe Benefit of His Birth, Ltfe, De3th_, Refurrea10n,_ Inte!ceffion, f!J/ who Rebel againft rhe Light. · God fenr hts Son to bleis us, 1~ turning of us from the Evil of our Ways: The!elore have a care o! Evil, for that tUrns you ~wa'y from God. ; and ~heremtyou have done .Evt.l, do fQ no inore:'"But be ye turned, my Dear C~tidren, from that Evtl, In thought as well as in Word or Deed, M that will turn you from God, your Creator, and Chrift whom he has given you f~r your Redee.mer ; :Wh~ redeems and faves his PeoplefFom their Sins. Tu. 2. 14. not t.n thea Sms, read A(h •· apd Jieb. s: 3Jld the Chri!lian Difpenfation wtll ap.pe-Jr to be that of the Spirit, which Sin quenchethJ. ~ar~ens .rhe Heart agamfi, and .bolts the Door upon. This Holy Divine l~rulctple IS calle~ GrtJc& .t?o, t T1m. 2. _1 r, 12 there you will fee the Nature and Office of lt, and Its bleffed Effeils uPon thofe that were taught of it in the Primttiv~ Days. ~nd ~hY. Grace~ ·Becaufe it is God's Love and not our Defert, hts Good-wtl~, hts Kmdnefs. lie fo loved tbt World, rhnr bt gavt bis only. btgotun Son IntO tb~ w~~IJ, t hat wbofotvtr he/irotJb in himjhould not p~rijh, bur have Everla.f!mg Life,, John 3· 16, and it is this Holy Son, that m Jo~n 1. 14, 16, I~ declared ro be full of Grace and Truth, and that of h1s Grace we reuzve Grace for Grace that is we receive of him, the Fulnefs, what Meafure of Grace we ~eed. A~d the Lord told Paul in his great T!i~ls, when. read>: to ftaggct about the Sufficiency ot the Grace, he had !ece1v d, r.o dehver htm, ny Grau is Jufficient for tbu. 2 Cor. 12. ': q Chtldr~n, love .the ,Grace, hearken to this Grace, it will reach you, ~t will fanCbfie rou, It Will lead you ro the Reft :~nd Kingdom of ~od; as lt taught the Sames of old, firft, what rodeny, viz. To den1 Un~od/mefs and wor/Jiy .Lufls. \ and then what to do, viz. to live Soher.ly, RtghreouPy and God!y m rhu p~tjcnt World, Tit. 2. tt, 12. And he rhar is full of .G.race, 1s f~ll of Lt~ht, a~d he that is full of Light is the quicke~ing Spmt, that gl\•cs a Manlfeftat~on of his Spirit to every one to profit wuh, 1 Cor. 12. 7· And he th:J~ IS t~e quickning Spirit is the Truth. I am the Way ~he Truth and the Ltfe, fa1d he, to his poor Followers, John 14. 6. ~nd tf the Truth make you free.; faid he, ro rhe Jews, then are you free mdeed ]o1m .s. 32, 3.6. And thts Truth fheds abroad it felf in Man a~~ begets Truth tn the mward Par.rs, and makes falfe, rebellious hypocnt1c~l M~n, a true Man to God agatn. Truth in the inward Pans is of great Pnce wuh. the~rd. And wh.Y .called T R u ·T 8 ~ Becaufe it tells Man the Truth of hi~ S~mr.ual State; H fh~ws him his State, deals plainly with ~im, an~ fers h1s Sins tn order before hu~. <So that, my dear Children, the Ltgbr, Sptru,. Gr,ace, a~d TrJJth :ne not dtvers PJinciplei but divers Words or Denomtn:mons gtven to One Eternal Power and H~avenly Principle in you,. tho" not of. you, but of God, according to the Manifefbtion or Operan.on t~ereof. m the ~~rvants of. God of old Time: Light, to difcover and gtvc dtfcermng: Spmr,. to qmcken and enliven: GrJcc, to wit, the Love of God :. Truth, hecaufe tt t~lls Man the Truth of his Condition, and redeems him from the Errors o.f hts W~y.s; that as DarknefS, Death, Sin, and Error are the fame, fo LJ.gbt, Spua, Grad and TrJJtiJ, are the fame. . . §. 4 This is that which is come by Chrift, and a Mcafurc of tlus Ltgh~, Spirit, Grace, and Truth, isgiv~ to~v~ry ~an an~ Woman to fee the!t Way to go by. This is that, W~tch ~dhngUI£hes Fn~nds from all others~ cieries, as they are found walkmg m the Tame, which leads out of vam Honours Complements) Lufis and Pleafures of the World. , 0Nlj VoL. I. Advice to Children. 0 my Dtt~r. OJ{!tlren, this is the Pc:nil of PriCe part with all~ t •t b t ne\'er parr.wtth tt_for all the World . . This is the' GofpeL Leaven °r01l;av~n you, that 15, fantb6e and feafon you m Body Soul and Spirit ro'God H~a~enly Fa!h~r's Ufe and Service, and yo~r ow~ lafiin C~mfort ' your th1s IS the Dtvrne and Incorruptible Seed of the Kin do~; of whichy!1i uulr: re~e~erare Men and V/omcn, Chrifiians of ChriH's makin are born Recetve It ~oro you~ Hearts, gi\'e ic room there, let ic take dec i;;ot in ou' and you w11l be frunful umo God in e\•erv good Word and Wc k A y ' take Heed to it and the Holy Enlighten.ings and Mario s £0! · s y~u have .a perfeEt Difcerning of the Spirit ~f this l:Vorld Jn ~~L .. ir;./~u :~:~ arc~s 111 your f~lves and. others; the Mouons, Temptations and Wo~Cings o. It, as to Pnde~ Vamty, Covetoufilefs, Revenge, Uuncleam'tefs, HY 0• fnfy and every ev1l.Way; you will fee rhe World in all it's Shapes fnd t:atWesida~d YJJ~ ~Ill be able to Judge the World by it, and the Spirh of . e or 1" a Its Appeam~ces: You will fee as I have done that there lS mu~h to deny, muc~ to fuffer and much to do: And you will fee that ther.c IS no Power or Vmue, bur in the Light, Spirit, Grace and Truth of ~hrpft, to carry you thr?ugh the World to God's Glory and yo'ur Everlaft· ~ng eace. Y~a, yo~ wtll fee what Religion is from Abo\'e and whar is . rom below t what. ~ of ~ad's ~or king, and of Man's maki'ng and forctpg; ~lfo what.Mtmftry lS of hts Spirit and giving, ~nd what of Man"s Studytng, Frammg, a~d lmpofing. You will, f fay, difcern the Rife Nature, !o~ens ~n~ Fruus of the True from the Falfe Miniftry, and 'what Worfhtp IS Spmtual, and what Carnal; and what Honour is of God 3 d what that Honour is, which is from below, of Men yea fallen Men' th~t ~he Jews and the W_orld fo gene_rally lo,·e, and w'hich,' is fpoken againft In ~obn >· 44· you Will fee the vam and evil Communication, that corrJJpts too .Manners s the ~nares ~f rnuc~ Company and Bufinefs, and efpecially the Danger of the F.nendllnp of th1s prefcnt evil World. And you willal~ fa fee, that the .T~fhmony, .rhe Eternal God hath brought our poor Frie'nds u.uto, as to Rtlzgzo'!, U:orPJlp, Trulh-fpt;alling, Miniftry, Pldinnrfs, Simpliclly, .and l!f.odtr.o~Jon zn .Apparel, FJJrmturt, Food, Salutalion, as you may read.m theu W~mn~s, fro~ the very Beginning, is a True and Heavenly Tefttmony of h1s M1.nd, W~1l, Work a.nd Difpenfation in this Iaft Age of the World to Mankmd, be1r1g rhe Revtval of true Primitive Chriftianity: Where your moll tender Father prays that you may be kept and charges you to ware~ that you may be_ preferved in the Fairh and Pr~El:ifc· of that Bleffed Teft1mony ~ and count tt no fmall Mercy from God, nor Honour to you, t~at you come of Parents that counted nothing roo dear or ncar to part wrth, nor too gre.at to ~o or fuffer, _that they ":light approve themfelves to Go~, an~ refi1fie th_etr Love to hts mofi prectous TrJJzb in the ino~ ward Pans, 1~ t~etr Generation. And I do alfo charge you, my dear Chilo~ dren, t? reta1~ m you~ Rerne~brance thofe worthy Ancients in the Work of Chr1ft, wh1ch rematned ahv~ to yout Day and Memory, and jet remain to your Knowledge, more efpec1aHy that Man of God and Prince in Jfrael ibe firft born and hego1ttn of 011r Dtty and .Age of TrJJtb, and tbe firfl and rh; zreat Early lnflmmtnt of God amongft us, George Fox. And .. What you have heard, feen andobfervcd, of tho~e Heavenly Worthies, their Holy Wifdom1 Zeal, LdVe, LaboJJrs and SJJfftrutgs, and particular Tendernefs to you Trea:fure up for your Children after you, and tell them what you hav~ heard, feen and known, of the Servants and Work of God, and Progrefs thereof, as an Holy, Exemplary, and Edifying Tradition unto them. And be fure, that you forfake nor the affembling y~ur felv~ with God's People, as the Manner of fome was .Htb. Jo. 2). and ts at thiS Day, efpecially among you~g People, the Ch1ldren of fome Friend&, whom the Lo\'e of this prefent Evil World hath hurc and cooled in their Love to God and his Truth. But do yoti keep clofe to Meetings, both of Wotrhlp: and B'ufinefs of the Church, when of an Age and Capacity proPet fot it; a-nd that not oar of No.velty, Formality, or to be feen of Merr, but in pure Fear, Love and Conf1aenco co God your Creator, a• the Pitblick, Juft and avowtcf Te- 1\imony 89) 1699· l.rV'U Chap. 1. I~ |