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A95905 A salutation of love unto all who have known the call of God and have in measure believed therein so far as to make open confession to his name and truth, and yet sit down short of the heavenly possession, through want of faithfulness thereunto, so come not to witness a being gathered into God's vineyard, to labour therein, which alone obtains the reward, and fits for his heavenly kingdom / by Richard Vickris. Vickris, Richard, d. 1700. 1697 (1697) Wing V340; ESTC R43808 5,873 28

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this Excess nor thus sinned out their Days but are yet living though in much Weakness and Feebleness sorely Bruised and Opprest by the Enemy for whom there is tender Compassion in our God and for whose Restoration the Lord's Servants are greatly concerned such are ready to say at times Who so Poor and Miserable as we Lord help us How shall we come to the help of the Lord The Enemy holds us fast we are glewed to Earthly Things to will is present with us but how to perform we know not Lord we believe help thou our unbelief To such a one I would say Thou believest that the Lord is for he that cometh to God must so believe and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him viz. That he is what he is God is Light in him is no Darkness at all God is Gracious and Merciful Long-suffering abundant in Goodness and Truth God is all Powerful and present every where consequently that he is present in thy Soul the Seal of this Belief is that degree of Sense and Experience thou findest of his Nature and Gift and Spirit in thee which is a Measure and Manifestation of himself unto thee in Opposition to the Nature Spirit and Power of Darkness in thee hereby thou distinguishest between Good and Evil knows the Voice of God that calls thee out of Darkness into Light out of Error into Truth out of Evil into Good and not only so but begets a Will and Desire in thee to eschew the Evil and cleave to the Good thus far thou believest well Love God of whose Life and Nature that Light that Truth that Good is which thou discernest in thy Soul and it will change thee into its Likeness thus thou wilt find the good Effects of thy Faith which works by Love and here thou wilt know the Holy Fear that keepeth thy Heart clean and as thou perseverest in this Faith Love and Fear of God He will instruct thee in all Righteousness and Truth and manifold Heavenly Vertues thou wilt learn of him as he is pleased to shew himself therein unto thee who will be with thee to help thee to perform what he requires of thee Come unto me saith Christ all ye that labour and are heavy laden learn of me for I am meek and low in Heart and ye shall find rest to your Souls I have already shewed the Necessity of believing that God is where he is to be found and how thou maist know him viz. by his Image Nature and Spirit in thee which shews it self forth in all heavenly Vertues And here it is to be observed that Christ who is the Express Image of his Father begins with his Meekness and Lowliness in the Heart to declare and shew himself to thee and the Way to come unto him is to learn of him that is so to wait for his Appearance as to have a sensible feeling of his Meekness and Humility in thee and to wait upon him to be made conformable thereunto I need not go about to Convince thee who thus believes that God is That it is the Indispensible Duty as well as True Interest of all Mankind to Serve Worship and Adore him to whom we all as depending Creatures Owe our Being and Well-being whence it inevitably follows that we Owe all Reverence Homage and Obedience to him And the way to obtain the Happiness that is in him is to come unto him and wait upon him from whom every good and perfect Gift cometh Now that which principally Resteth with me to Recommend to all to whom this may come is a true and right performance of this great Exercise and weighty Work of coming to Christ and waiting upon him because it is a Duty and Means appointed of God for all to attain Eternal Happiness and Peace with him For as Man lost his happy State by being betrayed and going from that Image of God in which he was Created so there is no other way to recover it but by coming back to Christ to be Restored into his Image again No Man cometh unto the Father but by me saith Christ and none cometh to me except my Father that hath sent me draw him Well then we must wait for the drawings of the Father and follow his Leadings for as Christ said The Father himself Loveth you how know we that but by the Sense he gives us of his Love in our Souls and how come we by this Sense but by the opening of his Life and Love therein This Manifestation of himself to us and in us is through the Gift and Spirit of his Son Christ Jesus in us whom we are to believe Ye believe in God believe also in me saith Christ that is Confide in him and follow him as he is the Way to the Father Love Fear and Obey him according as he Manifests himself and Reveals the Father who are One For so have we Experienced and Learned of Christ Therefore when he Exhorteth us to come unto him it is that we Inwardly Retire unto him in our Minds and settle our Intention purely upon him and diligently wait to feel his Life and Love which is his Divine Nature to spring up and shew it self in our Souls and then joyn with it cleave to it and love it and it will leven us into its own Nature and Image and so we come to a right Knowledge of God and Christ by Participation and Union and in and by this divine Nature and Spirit of Christ we are inabled to Pray to the Father to Resist the Enemy and overcome him for it is able to do all things and greatly prevails with God for a Blessing Now here is a sound Bottom and sure Foundation to build upon Namely Christ Jesus as he is thus manifested by his Divine Nature and Spirit in us And as we are built up hereupon we are built up to God a Spiritual House of Living Stones Elect and Precious Therefore in all our Spiritual Exercises and Drawings near to God we must come down to this Foundation and Corner-Stone and keep upon it and this is through great Labour deep and inward Silence and Spiritual Death unto Self and Self-strivings in Patience and Long-suffering obtained and kept to for the Enemy of our Souls Peace watches all Opportunities to draw our Minds away and keep us there-from knowing that all our Labour and Exercise upon a Spiritual Account becomes unprofitable unto us without this Foundation because as Christ said Without me ye can do nothing that is nothing available to our Souls Everlasting Rest and Peace Thus we see how greatly it Concerns us in order to the right Performance of Worship to God and obtaining our Souls Salvation to Meet together to waith upon God to Feel the Drawings of the Father to come unto Christ to present our Souls and Bodies as a Living Sacrifice unto him that is in his Presence where we Behold him and Love him in his Appearance which is most Beautiful and Excellent And as we thus diligently wait upon him and abide with him in the Meekness in the Lowliness in the Long suffering and in the Patience that he brings with him and gives unto such with all the rest of his Heavenly Vertues which spring and flow from him as from a Living Fountain we shall be Adorned therewith and Changed into his Likeness And here much might be added by way of Encouragement on the foot of our true Interest as well as Obligation and Duty to the right performance of this Exercise both with respect to the high and holy Call thereto the Beauty and Excellency that is in him beyond all Comparison whom we are thus to wait for and upon as well as the Wonderful Blessed and Comfortable Effects it produces in the Souls of all those that so does But these things cannot be sufficiently declared nor known to any as they are felt and experienced through the Work of God in their own Souls for as it is written Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard neither hath it entred into the Heart of Man to conceive the things that God hath in store for them that love him So Friends I earnestly beseech you for your Souls sake be wise in Heart diligent in the Work of the Lord both in coming to Meetings and waiting upon and worshipping of God therein and you will find your Reward Let your Eye be single and your Intention pure to God Consider the end of your coming and what you are about the Presence you are in and how you behave your selves in the presence of the great God you Profess to Worship that your Hearts may be rightly fitted and prepared for it gird up the Loyns of your Minds keep out of the Musings Self-Workings and Strivings for that brings forth nothing to Perfection wait the Lord's time trust in him and hope to the end and he that is Faithful and True and is not Slack concerning his Promise as some Men count Slackness when he hath proved you will Visit you and Reward your Faith and Patience and Administer things suitable to your Necessities and make you in Love with all Opportunities of waiting upon him and if you continue Faithful will Crown you with Life and in the end receive you into his Heavenly Kingdom of Joy and Peace for evermore which that he may do for us all is the Hearty Desire of Your Friend and Well-wisher and one of Zion's Travellers towards his Everlasting Kingdom Richard Vickris Chew the 27th of the First Month 1697. Given forth to be Read amongst Friends FINIS