Selected quad for the lemma: hand_n
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A41347
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A salutation of true love to all faithful friends, brethren and sisters in the fellowship of the blessed truth with an addition of tender love to all younger convinced friends in and about London &c. : also a few words of advice to the children of believing and faithful parents.
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Fisher, A. (Abigail)
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1690
(1690)
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Wing F986; ESTC R37815
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9,677
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21
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A SALUTATION OF TRUE LOVE TO ALL Faithful Friends Brethren and Sisters IN THE Fellowship of the Blessed Truth WITH An Addition of Tender Love to all younger convinced Friends in and about London c. ALSO A Few words of Advice to the Children of Believing and Faithful Parents LONDON Printed for Thomas Northcott in George-Yard in Lumbard-street 1690. TO THE READER Dear Friends REmembring the good Housholder that brought forth out of his Treasury Things both New and Old I am made willing to Communicate this following Salutation which was written some Time since chiefly to my Elder Faithful Brethren and Sisters But meeting with various Exercises in which Time the Enemy was not wanting to discourage me I laid it by But now feeling the Renewings of the Love of God towards you and a fresh Stream of Love and Life from the same Fountain runing in my Soul and opening my Heart towards my Younger Convinced Friends I now after this Salutation to you commit what follows to their serious Reading and Consideration who am and trust in God shall Remain in true Love your Friend and their Fellow-Traveller till I may arrive at my desired Rest which is to lay down my Head in Peace with the Lord. A. F. A SALUTATION OF TRUE LOVE TO you my Dear and Well-beloved Friends Faithful Brethren and Sisters whom my Soul feels a Uniting to in the Spirit of the Living God which hath quickned and made you a living People who once were Dead as well as others but through the Riches of the Love of God in the Revelation of his Son Christ Jesus are made alive to Praise him whose gathering Arm hath been made bare for our Salvation and Preservation from under Satan's Thraldom in which we were held by his dark Power which did bear Rule and Captivate our Minds insomuch that many were Slaves till the Lord was pleased to reach forth the Hand of his Divine Love and make known the Right Arm of his Heavenly Power to gather us who with his Shepherds Crook did reach unto us and found us out by which he hath brought many near unto himself and they are his Elect and Precious in his Sight to whom he hath and will Reveal his blessed Mind and Will and for whom he hath and will yet arise to plead with all that shall Combine against him or those whom he hath called for a Purpose of his own Glory by whom he hath and doth yet intend through the work of his Spirit to shew forth his excellent Name which is as Precious Ointment to them who through the Vertue thereof have smelt the good Savour which many shall yet greatly desire For the Lord that hath begun a Work of Reformation will yet go on to a further perfecting the same in this our Age and many have been the Visitations of the Long-suffering God who hath and will yet come in and with the Sanctified to Judge and Condemn the Unsanctified and especially those that have professed his worthy Name but have lived in that which hath dishonoured and caused it to be Evil spoken of by those who know it not but lamentable is their Case except they Repent and Turn to the Lord with their whole Hearts that have been Convinced of the Truth and in some Measure know the working of that Power which is alone sufficient to Convert and work a Change as it is yielded to through the Lively Operation thereof which works by Love in the Hearts of all that sincerely desire to be Translated from Death to Life that they may be as Living Monuments of the Mercies of God which to the Praise of his Name be it spoken many are And these are they to whom the Lord hath and is spreading his Table with many Delicates and they know the Mansion-house where their Bread is sure and their Water never fails Come Eat with me this day my well beloved and drink of the Wine of the Kingdom for it is new and newly poured forth through the Flagons of God's Love to you who are indwellers where his mercy Seat you have beheld and where you can approach before the Throne of his heavenly Grace and where his honourable Presence you do behold when the Light of his Countenance is lifted up upon you O then his Love you feel as a strong Cord which draws you to love him again and you are the espoused to Christ who can say in truth he is my Beloved and I am his you feel his blessing to light upon you as the Dew which causes you to grow and you are as the Garden of God which he delights to dress and prune and much Labour hath the Lord bestowed on you whose love is felt at this time as the small Rain descending on every Plant that his Right hand hath planted that they may grow in their Season as the Summer Fruits which are beautiful to behold Friends my Soul is greatly affected with what the Lord hath done and is doing for a People that are willing to be the Workmanship of his hands whose sincere Cry is to the Lord not only to know his Will which is the Sanctification of his People but also to know the word of his Power which is as a Hammer and as a fire to beat down and burn up all the Combustible matter and you are they that have and are coming thus to know the Travel of your Souls through an holy Subjection to the Mind and Will of God that he will and doth stand by and secretly make way for through all outward and inward Opposition but to such who may not be so nearly gathered this Exhortation springs from the Root of true Love Retire to the Lord and draw near to him who hath promised he will draw near to you and Christ said They that come unto me I will in no ways cast off Blessed be the Lord there are many witnesses therefore let all be encouraged he is faithful who hath promised many can seal to the Testimony whom he hath made partakers of the Benefit thereof and they have reapt great Advantage by coming unto him yea when they were wearied and heavy laden with divers sins then was his hand stretched out to undo the heavy Burthen and that was a sign of Love the remembrance of which bows my Soul before the great God whose Love I feel and the large extending thereof reaching to all and many shall be visited who have not yet felt God's quickning Power to raise their Souls from that Sleep of Death which Satan hath lull'd them into through harkning unto him and disobeying the Command of the great God but my Friends I know the dealing of the Lord to you who are awakened and raised from Death to Life is as a strong Obligation on your Spirits to walk in the Light of the Lord where the Morning of God's Day was known to dawn and the Sun to rise that hath shined unto the Noon day by which your hearts have been warmed and your Spirits
which stand open to receive all who are truly poor in spirit for they shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven Which is a Place of great Felicity Believe it you and then come all and see Where Joy and Comfort endless doth abound To all unfeigned hearts whose Love is sound And travel on as Caleb Joshua did Men of excellent Spirits as you all may read And this I also do you farther tell There is great Happiness in doing well The benefit of which you 'll surely find If cross you do all vain things in your mind The Principle of Light and Truth is set In thy Heart Man and doth it often check But this is a great Misery in our day Some hate Counsel and thrust Truths check away But I desire that none of you so do To whom these following Lines do yet ensue You who are the Children and Off-spring yea I may say the natural Branches of such who have been grafted into the true Vine to many of you the Love of God still reaches that you may come to know a being grafted in also and that you may receive Sap and Nourishment from the Root Christ Jesus that thereby you may come to grow fresh and green remembring the Willows by the Water-courses you having been often watered as with the Dew from Heaven that now you may not be as fruitless Branches that the Lord may not have cause to cut off any natural Branch but as you are Children and Heirs of these Earthly things which the Lord hath blessed many of your Parents with that now you may not only therewith be content but fervently desire to be made Heirs and Possessors of that heavenly Treasure and durable Riches which the Lord hath also enriched them with that you may not be only Children of the Flesh but come to know a being born of the Spirit or that spiritual Birth brought forth in you which is Heir of everlasting Life that when your Parents shall be called to leave these earthly Tabernacles or Houses of Clay to possess an House not made with hands but Eternal in the Heavens which many are already called to then as you come to possess and enjoy their Substance here you may also be following them in that straight and narrow way which will lead and bring you to that same purchased Possession and everlasting Inheritance when Time in this World shall be no more that as the Lord hath been honoured his Power magnified and Truth exalted by many who have been as a kind of first Fruits to the Praise of the Lord be it spoken that now you who are as a following Generation may be as a second Spring on the same Ground whose freshness and greenness may so appear as that you may be Inviters and Encouragers of others to come and feed on the same Pasture the Lord being your Shepherd you may be able to say we shall not want having your Faith in him and Hearts fixed upon him that in all things your Eyes may be to him and to the Honour of his great Name which hath been as precious Ointment often poured forth amongst you the Savour of which hath caused many to love the Lord and not only to love him but an increase of Love to him hath been known and this is that Love which thinks no Evil the Lord still increase it this bears all things endures and suffers all things this Love also edifies and will build you up as an holy House as you see the Encrease of it this is that Love which the Apostle makes mention of when he said All things are as Dross and Dung in comparison of the Riches of the Love of God which hath been revealed and partaken of in this our Day through Christ Jesus our Lord And now Dear Friends my desire to the Lord on your behalf is that you may have the Benefit of those precious Promises which are Yea and Amen unto the one Seed Christ Jesus which will be as you find him raising that Birth in you which hungers and thirsts after Righteousness For such the Lord hath and will fill with the Treasure of Wisdom and they shall know the Mysteries of his Kingdom and be fed with that Bread which comes down from Heaven and here you will feed together as harmless Sheep of one Pasture and be nourished up in that innocent Life in which the Plant will grow that the Lord 's Right hand hath planted and here you will not only answer the good End of the Lord but also the Care of your tender Parents which hath not only been concerned for you their Children but also for the Honour of God and the Glory of his Power which I have often heard many publickly desire that this young Generation may come to witness the operating Virtue of it to soften tender and mollifie their Heart that by the effectual working thereof they may know that Contrition of Spirit which the Lord never did nor will despise Friends slight not the Love of God because you have often and many frequent Tokens of it but embrace it and remember it is said Whilst it 's called to Day harden not your Hearts lest a Night of Deprivation of these Mercies you now enjoy should approach any of you Dear Friends the Love of God enlarges my Heart to you the which I desire you may feel to make room in you to receive it will be your own Advantage and a Cause of Joy and Comfort to those whom the Lord hath made instrumental in his hand to the begetting of you to himself and here you will be in a living Capacity to glorifie God your Maker and much might be said for your Encouragement but the Lord will not be wanting unto you for his immediate Power will be present with you as also many Instruments in his hand whom he hath and may make helpful to you And thus dear Friends the God of all our Mercies will be honoured the Knowledge of his Truth still increased and we together mutually comforted which is the hearty Desire of your Friend and Sister ABIGAL FISHER FINIS