Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A85258
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An exhortation, by way of epistle to the friends of Christ, every where.
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Field, John, 1652-1723.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing F863A; ESTC R177041
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7,654
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38
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nought Matth. 21. 19. Therefore my dear and tender Friends that are visited and called of latter time be diligent in waiting upon God and faithful to him and answer his Requirings and be doers of his Will so far as he hath made it known for as you are faithful in a few or little things God will make known more and greater for a bruised Reed shall he not break and the smoaking flax shall he not quench he shall bring forth judgment unto truth Isa 43. 3. But there must be a waiting on him in this Way and a following him therein and not a starting aside like a broken Bow for if ye do not follow Wisdom in the Way she leads which is the Way of Righteousness and in the middle Paths of Judgments ye cannot be made Partakers of the living Substance or know your Treasures filled Therefore faithfully follow the Lord and ye shall know him Isa 42. 13. to go forth as a mighty man he shall stir up jealousie like a man of war he shall cry yea roar he shall prevail against his enemies For he hath a bow and a crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering and to conquer Rev. 6. 2. This is the Captain of the Lord's Host this is he whom the Armies that are in Heaven follow this is he in whom we have believed Revelat. 1. 18. that was dead and is alive and lives for ever more this is he to whom all power is given in heaven and in earth Matth. 28. 18. who will destroy our Enemies and that great Enemy that is Death that will put an end to Sin that will finish transgressions that will bring everlasting righteousness Dan. 9. 24. into our Souls and compleat the Work of our Redemption and Salvation which the Father sent him to do if we follow him in Truth in sincerity and uprightness of Heart in the way of the daily Cross Matt. 10. 28. and in the Regeneration which is the End of our Call and Visitation and is both our Duty and Interest for thereby we shall obtain Peace to our Souls find Acceptance with God through him and be fitted for his Kingdom and as we live abide and walk in him shall we be kept while here in a patient continuance in well doing and be made sharers of Glory partakers of Immortality and Inheritors of Eternal Life Rom. 2. 7. Let nothing therefore in this low World nor any thing you may meet with in your Pilgrimage through this mortal Life or Vale of Tears prevail upon you to neglect your Duty to God or decline your Testimony for him in any Respect For he hath not only called and raised us up to be a People but hath kept and preserved us in and under all our Exercises Troubles Sufferings or Afflictions that he hath suffer'd to come upon us for the trial of our Faith and exercise of our Patience of what kind or nature soever whether from the World or among our selves he hath been a shelter in the Time of Storm and a Refuge in the Day of Trouble Oh! Let us therefore remember his Love to us and fear him and his Goodness Hos 3. 5. and be daily exercised in meditating in his LAW and in a Spirit of Prayer and Supplication unto him that we may keep the same and walk therein and in his holy and undefil'd way will he then lead us And we shall partake of his Blessing and be directed by his Wisdom and guided by his Council and in the End be received into Glory Psal 73. 24. Once more therefore my dear and tender Friends in brotherly Love I exhort you not to forsake the Assembling of your selves together as the manner of some is but rather the more as the day approaches Heb. 10. 25. For altho' this is a Day of outward Liberty which the Lord by his Power and Providence hath brought us to enjoy and after a Storm hath brought this Calm for which we ought and my Soul in Humility doth humbly thank the Lord and return Praises to his Holy Name and am also thankful unto those under whom we do enjoy this Mercy and we ought to pray for them That we may live a peaceable Life in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 2. 2. But my dear Friends now let 's not decline or grow slack in this Christian Duty or forbear the assembling of our selves together to wait on God in Diligence and to serve him in Faithfulness and in a right Sense of his Mercies of the multitude of which this of peaceably meeting together is not the least And if any of those that in the Discharge of this Duty did diligently meet when they could seldom enjoy a quiet Meeting and hazard the Loss of their Goods and Liberty and by being confined in Noysom Goals and Stinking Holes and Dungeons hazarded their Healths and consequently endanger'd their Lives If any of these should now grow cold and slack in this Christian Duty in this Time of Liberty they may notwithstanding what they have done and suffered fall short of that Rest God hath prepar'd for his People and miss of that Reward he gives to the Faithful Therefore let all such be diligent herein and persevere to the End in Faithfulness and Diligence i. e. in Meeting and Waiting upon God therein and rather the more as the Day approacheth For oh my Friends I must tell you there is a Day approaching wherein we shall meet again with Tryals and Exercises and shall need to know the Lord to be our Strength and Refuge our Rock and Hiding-place and Defence And the more diligent we are now in serving him and the more faithful we are in following him the more we shall renew our Acquaintance with the Lord and Strength in him and be the better enabl'd to bear our Testimony for him in such a Day and have the more Comfort and Peace therein If then we can appeal to the Lord like good Hezekiah and say Remember now O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight 2 Kings 20. 3. Oh! let this be our Care to see that we are found doing that which is good in his Sight and that we slight none of his Mercies nor neglect any Season or Opportunity that he affords us but may diligently improve the same to his Honour that it may in the end be to our Peace and Comfort And if any did in the time of Suffering neglect and omit their Christian Duty of Meeting together with God's People to wait upon him to worship and serve him and to bear a Testimony for him such that now remain ought to prize God's Love and Mercy in affording such a Season as this is And great Diligence and Care they ought to be found in to improve these present peaceable Opportunities of Meeting together that they may renew their Strength and know their Love to God and Zeal for his
AN EXHORTATION By way of EPISTLE TO THE Friends of Christ Every Where Jesus said My doctrine is not mine but his that sent me If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self Joh. 7. 16 17. Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them Matt. 18. 20. If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love Joh. 15. 10. London Printed for T. Northcot in George-yard in Lombard-street 1696. AN Exhortation c. DEar and tender Friends Brethren and Sisters whom the Lord in his tender Love hath visited in these latter Days and after a long and tedious Night of Darkness and Time of Apostacy wherein the saving Knowledge of the glorious God and our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ hath been but little known and livingly experienced to you who are now visited with the bright-shining Light of his glorious Day that hath sprung up in this latter Age and are called by his blessed Grace and quickned by his living Spirit raised by his eternal Power to be a People to the Praise of his Grace and to the Honour of his everlasting Name and through the Revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ are made Partakers of God's saving Knowledge in a good degree and in whom the Almighty God our Heavenly Father by his powerful Word hath began his glorious Work of Righteousness Redemption and Eternal Salvation To you O my Friends I feel the Love of God flow and thereby am drawn to send these following Lines not only as a Salutation of endeared Love but as Counsel and Advice on the several Heads following viz. I. To be diligent in waiting upon the Lord. II. And frequent in that Christian Duty in meeting together for that End That you may renew your Acquaintance with him and your Strength in him and be enabled by him in Faithfulness to follow him and may feel your Hearts filled with Love to him Fear towards him Zeal for him and a godly Concern for his Glory the Propagating and Spreading of his precious Truth the Exaltation and Renowning of his excellent Name and in Plainness and Simplicity may be found bearing your Testimony for him in all Respects and not decline it in any That you may have his Blessings enjoy his Presence and be more abundantly made Partakers of the Comforts of his Holy Spirit and Joy of his Salvation And for this End I do in brotherly Love exhort all to be inward in their Minds and to have their Hearts exercised in that Light in which they have believed and that Spirit by which they have been quickened And then you will see your selves know your States be sensible of your Weaknesses and Wants and of the need you have to watch unto Prayer and to wait on the Lord and frequently to meet with his People for that End and to be diligent when met in attending upon the Lord in his Holy Fear that you may feel his Presence renew your Strength and know his Work to prosper and be carry'd on in your Souls But if you neglect this Duty and are not diligent therein altho' you are called you cannot be faithful nor become his chosen People but will grow cool in your Love to God and will slack in your Obedience and will not partake Altho' you may hear of the GOOD of his Land but will become dry baren and unfruitful unto him and altho ' you may retain a Profession of the Truth and confess thereunto yet the Love of the Word and the Cares of it will grow and the Spirit of it will prevail and into the Evil that 's in it you will be drawn and under Condemnation you will fall and be in Danger to bring Reproach upon Truth Dishonour to the Name of God and Scandal upon the Christian Religion and your Holy Profession in your Lives and Conversations and to decline your Testimony for the Lord both in Words Habit and Conversation Oh! therefore my dear Friends prize the great Love of God to you in visiting and calling you by his Light and Grace and consider the End thereof which is that you might be a People to his Praise and to the Honour of his Name and might shew forth the Vertue of him that hath called you out of Darkness into his marvellous Light 1 Pet. 2. 9. to serve him with Reverence and godly Fear and to be found diligent in that Practice of Meeting often together and Speaking often one unto another and thinking on his Name Mal. 3. 16. as those that feared him did in the Ages past of whom the Lord said these shall be Mine Oh! that 's precious to know and comfortable to experience that we are HIS his People his Children his Servants his Sons and Daughters then we shall have his Blessing enjoy his Presence know his Care to be over us and feed at his Table partake of his Bread be nourish'd by the Milk of his Word grow in his Grace and the Knowledg of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and our Souls will be filled with Love to him Joh. 15. 10 12. and we shall manifest it by our keeping his Commandments and be enabled by him to keep our Testimony unspotted and in Truth and Faithfulness stand Witnesses for him against the World all its corrupt Ways Fashions Customs Religions and Traditions and be preserv'd from touching the unclean thing then the Lord will receive us 2 Cor. 6. 17. and own us stand by and preserve us protect and defend us support and sustain us in and under all we may meet with for the faithful Discharge of our Duty to him and keeping our Testimony for him Then oh then neither the Frowns nor Flatteries the Threats nor Entreaties the Favour nor Displeasure of Men will prevail upon us to decline our Testimony or neglect our Duty But the faithful Discharg thereof above all other things by us will be preferr'd and our Love to Christ thereby manifested as it ought to be for you know he hath said If any man love any thing more than me he is not worthy of me Therefore let us look to him and wait on him and pray to him to carry on to prosper and compleat the Work of Righteousness Redemption and Salvation in our Hearts and Souls And be watchful against all that which would draw away your Hearts and Minds from the Lord into the Earth and earthly Things and the Love and too eager pursuit thereof for that will cooll your Love to God and chill your Zeal and cause a Slackness to your Christian Duty of meeting together to wait upon God and will have a Tendency to bring you into a cold dead formal State and to make you like the Tree that had Leaves only and no Fruit to which Christ said Let no fruit grow on thee And presently it withered and came to