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Show Critbcim, 23· ~· ~· The AuTHOl\'~ LIFE; • . · L' h Ri6nteoufnefs of the Saints. Lean upon His With His Ftne men, t-.vc our joyning in an Everlalling Covenant with B~eaft for e}fr• and ~~~"'up ythe Light of His Countenance up_on you, and Ht~, that e ~uayGood: That in Bleffing He may Blefa you, mcreafe you, debght [~ dV 'you in all Spiritual Hleffings now and for eyer; th~t to God ~b:o~h ~n, you may live all the Days of your _a{lpom_ted Ttme. To whoJ b• Glory and Honour, Praifes and Thankfgmngs m the Church throughJut all Ages, and for ever. . I am in tbe Faith Patience, Tribulation, and Hope of the lGngdom of JESUS,. your Friend and Brotber, William Penn: My Companions in the Labour and Travel of the Teftimony of ]ifNr; Salute you all in the Love of our God. We have pdl'ed through feveral Cities of Germany, and are now a: ~ranc~[Ott, w~ere the Lord hath given us Three Ble!fed Opporruntues ~t[h J Senous and Seeking People; whereof, as tn other Places of;hlS Country, many of them are Perfons of Great Worldly Quabty. Ble!l'ed be the Name of the Lord, to whom be Glory fot ever. W. P. 'Fnncktort, tk 224 of rk61b Momb,1677. The Fifth Day we arrived by the Way of TVornu at CrifofiiiJ, in thePalt.=.: grave's Country, where we found to our great Joy, a Meeri~g. of Tender and Faithful People ~ But it fcems the lnfpc(tor of the Calvtm.fls had en~ joyned the Vaughr, or Chief Officer, n~t to fufrer. any. Preaching to be among our Friends; who (Poor Man) feanr'!g the Indtgnat.ton of the Clergy, came next Day to defire Friends not to fuffer any Preaclung to be amongft them, left he fhould he turned out of. his Place. To whom we defired Friends to fay, That if he pleafed he.mtght apprehend us, and.carry us to the Prince before whom we fhould gtve an Account of our Tetbmony. .Bur, bl~ffed be the Lord, we enj· oyed our Meeting quietl.y and comfor.: tably · of which a Coach full from Vormsmade a Parr, :1mongfi whom was a Gov~rnor of that Country, and one of the Chief.Luthcran Priefts. . It came upon me in this Place to Salute the Pnncefs and Countefs Wlth tkis following Epiftle. A Salutation to Elizabeth Princefs Palatine, and Anna Maria rf Horner; Counters of Horn11, at Herwmlen in G""m•".J· 'My Worth} Friends, ' suCH as 1 have, fuch I give unto you; the Dear and Tender Salutati· • on of Light, Life, Peace and Salvation by JESUS CHRIST, tbe ' BkJ!<d Lomb of G 0 D; with the unfpe3kable Joy of which He hath re~ plenifhed my Soul at this Time, that my Cup overfioweth ; which is the ' Reward of them that chearfully drink His Cup of Tribulations, th3t love c the Crofs, and triumph in all the Shame, Reproaches and Conuadi8:ions ' of the World that do attend it. My God take you by the Hand, and. ' gently lead you through all the Difficulties of Regeneration ; and as you ' have begun to know and love His Sweet and Tender Drawings, fo refign ' the whole ConduCt: of your Lives to Him. ' Difpute nor away the Precious Senti! that you have of Him, be it as ' fmall as a Grain of Mullard-Seed, which is the leaft of :11l Seeds; there is ' a Power in it (if you do but believe) ro remove the great eft Mountains of ' Oppofition. 0 Precious is this Faith, yea, more Precious than the Glory ' and Honour of this World that perifherh. Ir will give Courage to go ~ w\th CHRIST before Coiophlll and Pi/are; ye3, to bear His Crofs with'-- out 7~ ' out rh'e OJmp, and to be Crucified with Him, knowing that the -spirit of t677• • GO pandofGlory lh3Jl ref! upon them. To thelnheritorsofthisFJith ~ ~ is rcfcu;ved the Eternal. Kingdom of Peace, and Joy in the Holy Gbot1. ' ~ • 0 be you of rhat 'ltttle Flock unto whom JESUS faid Fe11r not it is 'yonr FatbffsGood Pleifure.to give you the K;ngilom: And to be of tUisfloc~ • you mufr become as Sheep; and to be 3? Sheep, you mufr becomelttrm~ • lel.S.; and to become Harmlefs, you rnuft hear and f~llow the Lmnb of God, ' as He' is that Blelfed Light which difcovererh and condernneth all the • unfruitful Works ofDarkn"efs, and maketh Harmlefs JS a Do\•e. which 1 V/ord, .JJ.U, lea\'eth not one Peccadillo or Circumftancc undifco;'ered or ' unjudged; and the \Yard. Dark'!ifs uk.eth in the whole Night of Ap?fta. • iie, Jnd the Word Lnfruuful, IS a plam Judgment againft all thofe dark • Works. \Vherefore out of them all come, and be you feparared; and ~ God will gi\•e you a Crown of Life, which fh:lll never fade away. ' 0 .! the Lownefs and Meaonefs of thofe Spirits th:lt defpife or neglec:t: 1 the Joys and Glories of Immortality, for the Sake of the Thin&s which ' are ii!en, rha.t are but Temporal, debaftng the Nobility of theu Souls, ' alx!.ndooing th~ Government of the Divine Spirit, and embracing with all ' Ardency ot AffeCtion, the Senfu:1l Pleafures of this Life; but fuch :is per· ~ fevere thercio, {ha1l nor enter into God's Reft for ever. ' But this is not all that hindereth and obftru8:erh in the Holy 'Vay ·of 1 Bleffednefs; for there is the World's Fear as well as rhe World's Joy that ' obltruaerh many, or elfe Chrift hJd not faid, Fear not, to his Linle 1 Flock. The Shame of the Crofs js a Yoke too un·eafie, and a Burden too • heavy for Flefh and'Blood to bear. •tis true; but therefore !hall Flefh and ' Blood never enter into the Kingdom of God. And OQ[ \o ..them tha.t are ' born of the Jo'Iefh, but to thofe that are born of the Spiri t, through tha c Word of Regeneration, is appointed the Kingdom, and that Throne which • {hall judge rhe Tweh'e Tribes of Ifrael, 3nd all the World. The Lord ' perfect what he hath begun in you, ana give you Dominion over the Love • and Fear of this World. - ' And, my Friends, if you would profit in the Way of God, defpife not • the Day of Small Things in your felvcs: Know this, that to defire ::1nd • fincerely to brearh after the Lord, is a Rlelfed State; vou muft feek he-- • fore you find. Do you believe? Make not Hafte, exi:ingoifh not rhofe • fmall Beginnings by an over-earneft or impatient Defirc of Viftory. God's • Time is the bett Time; be you faithful, and your ConfHa fhall end with ' Glory to God, and the Reward of Peace to your own Souls. Thererore ' love the Judgment, and love the Fire; ftart not a fide, neither ftinch from ' die Scorchings of it, for ir will purify and refine you as Goldfevcn times ' tried; then cometh the Sramp :1nd Seal of the Lord upon his own VelreJ, ' liolinefs to Hint /or ever ; which he never gave, nor will give to Repro· 'bate Silver, the State of the Religious \Vorfhippers of the w·orld. And ' herein be comforted, th~t Sion fhall be redeemed through Judgment, and ' her Co~ver.rs t.h.rough Rtghteo~fnc~s; and after the appointed Time of ' Mourntng IS o.ver, the Lord w1ll g1ve Beauty for Afhes, the Oil of Joy ' for Mourning, and the Garment of Praife for the Spirit of Heavinefs. ' Then !hall you be able to fay, Who is be thtf't condemncth 111 ? GoJ Othb 'juflificd 11s; there is no Condemnntion to ru that ore in Chrifl ]t:Jiu, ubo ' walk not after tbt F!cjh, but afttr ;be SpiriJ. ' Wherefore, my dear Friends, walk not only not after the Fldhly Luff;, ' but alfo flO[ after the Fle(hly Religions, :1nd Worfhips of the World: ' For that That is oot born of the Spirit is Flefh ; and all Flcrh f11:tll wither 1 as the Grafs, and the Beauty of it (hall fade a. way as the Flower of the ' Field, before God's Sun that is rifen, and rifing. Bur the 'Vord of the ' Lord in which is Life, and that Life the Light of Men, flllll endure for ' ever, and give Life Eternal to them that love, .and wait in the Lighr. ' And I in treat yo1.1, by the Love you have for JESUS, have a <::are ' how you touch with Flefhly Births, or fJy jjff!t'n, by \Vord or PraEhce. ~ to that which is not born of the Spirit : For God is not to be found of L : tlurJ |
