A VISITATION OF LOVE To the tender Plants of Gods VINEYARD Given forth by HENRY JACKSON Also two Generall Epistles given forth by WILLIAM CATON LONDON Printed in the Year 1663. A visitation of LOUE unto the tender plants of Gods Vineyard DEar and tender plants of my heavenly Father the salutation of my love dearly doth greet you all in the spirit that giveth life by which you are brought afresh to my remembrance even at this present time in these my present bonds for the word of God and the testimony of Christ Jesus and that not without living breathings ariseing in my heart unto the Lord for you that the God of all life vertue and living refreshment may daily water and nourish you with his heavenly life love and vertue causing you to abound in all the fruits of righteousnesse to the everlasting praise of his great and glorious Name that so you being fully rooted fixed and established in the root of life the stem and off-spring of David may grow up as plants of righteousness and flourish as Willows by the water courses that your branches may never wither nor your fruit perish but that the vertue of your leaf may be for the healing of the Nations and your fruit may remain in the winter stormes and tempests to the everlasting praise and glory of the Lord God of the vine-yard who hath planted and watered you and who also hath and will give an encrease unto all you who exalt not above the root nor lift up your selves against the other branches but abides in the true vine and keeps your place in the ground and root of life into which the Father hath implanted and grafted you that ye never may be plucked up nor cut off as withered and unfruitfull branches but that the vertue of the root of life may put forth it self through you and in the vertue and life thereof you may grow up fructifie and abound in all the fruits of righteousness thankesgiving and praise to the everlasting glory and renown of the Lord of the vineyard who is God over all blessed for evermore And dear and tender plants this is with me further to signifie unto you that it was purposed in my heart to have visited you in the bowels of eternall love with my dear and honorable Brother and companion in the Lord W. D. But Sathan hath hindred us who in Ages and Generatiâ—â—s past sought to withstand the servants of the most high God and even â—â—w also worketh mightily in the hearts of unreasonable and wicked men â—eeking to stirre up wrath against us and to cast our bodies into prison thereby intending to let and hinder the work of the Lord and to stop the wells of Iacob by depriving the heritage of the Lord of those pretious and refreshing oportunities which our God hath afforded us in our holy assemblings and comings together to wait upon him to be strengthned and refreshed by him and to build up strengthen and comfort one another in the most holy saith even with the same strength vertue and consolation wherewith we our selves are strengthned comforted and refreshed of our God And glory be to the Lord God for ever concerning this I am fully assured that the expectation of the wicked one herein shall be frustrated and that the God of all comfort and consolation hath and doth answer the request of our soules concerning you who abide faithfull to him in the light of his everlasting covenant in that he will manifest his heavenly vertue with you whether together or assunder as outwardly and open the spring of eternall life in you and therein make you as a well-spring of living refreshment one unto another And though he hath permitted the adversary so far to prevaile against us or to exercise his rage on us as to cast our bodies into prison is he did the very dearest Saints and servants of the God of Heaven în thâ— dayes past yet herein also I am fully confident that the wrath of men shall be turned to the praise of our God and the remainder thereof he will restrain and so concerning this I am fully satisfied and rest in peace in the will or rather permission of our God believing assuredly that this also shall work for our consolation that the depth of the riches of Gods love unto us ward may more abundantly be made manifest both in the preservation and deliverance of us in his own appointed time untill which we rest in the will of our God being singly given up that that may be done by us and fulfilled in us In which rest yee with us my dear friends for though in bodily presence we are seperated from you and letted from visiting of you for a little season yet in spirit we are with you in the bowels of eternal love our hearts are enlarged towards you much more then what is needfull to be expressed in lines of this kind seeing in the word of the Lord God you may read us and feel us near unto you and with you all even as in an epistle written in your harts to be seen and read by you all Wherefore in that receive ye a visitation of tender love from him that travels in spirit although outwardly in bonds for your preservation growth and prosperity every way in Gods pretious truth by which you were at first convinced for there is not preservatian growth nor any true prosperity in or by another then in that which hath been declared of unto you from the beginning even the light of Christ Jesus the word of the gospel of truth by which at first your hearts were opened and turned towards the Lord and repentance given unto life never to be repented of and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ and fervent love begotten in your hearts one towards another by which word of the Gospel my heart is enlarged unto you in an abundant manner and therein also let me inlarge my self a little by writing a few lines unto you in simplicity and truth though you need it not who are taught by the anoynting that dwelleth in you in all things and your hearts established in righteousnesse yet seeing all aâ—e not come so farre that are convinced of the truth of God bear with me a little ye that are strong if I write a few words in generall by way of caution or to put you afresh in remembrance O you dear and tender plants of my Father that ye be watchful at all times and take heed of that which would exalt you above your root or draw you into highnesse and loftinesse of minde above the feeling of the daily crosse kept over and above the earthly or flâ—shly part for that is to be beat down and kept in subjection or else it will cause you to wither and dry up at the root if that be nourished and cherished in you which the Lord God hates and resisteth but he giveth grace to the humble wherefore my dear friends in lowlinesse
as there are besides things many which they take up as occasions agâ—inst us as covers for their wickednesse and these things are not without the Lords permission who will try his Jewells as Gold that is seven times purified and the more that we keep our Consciences void of offâ—nce towards him and man the more precious we shall be in his sight but if we should love our Liberties our Estates or Lives more then him who hath said Swear not at all and for the saving of these should swear conttary to his command we should not onely neglect answering his end in forbidding of it but incurre his displeasure against us and while through doing that which he forbids we may think to save our Liberties estates and lives we might even in a moment loose them all for we know they are uncertain therefore let us answer the Lords end in shewing us the evil of this also and in being faithful in this and in all other things we shall find life riches and liberties which the world can neither give us nor take from us Moreover Friends as concerning your Return again to the Steeple-houses and unto which some would force you at this day but alas shall not he that sitteth in the Heavens laugh at their folly for doth not the least amongst you know that was not the Lords end in bringing you out of them I mean that you should return to them again neither needed you have suffered upon this account by that generation that continues in them if God had not determined to have tryed you out of them and that by the suffering which comes and will come upon you for not repairing to them yet neverthelesse if you would rather answer the Adversaries will by your returning to them again then the Lords end in calling you out of them then you might suddenly free your selves from suffering upon this account but I doubt not out you are otherwise minded yea resolved to answer the Lords end in his calling you out of them notwithstanding your Adversaâ—â—â—s present threatnings forcing and compellings which is not of from by nor through the Spirit of the Lord God therefore in the Spirit with patienec must you bear what the Lord suffers to come upon you upon this count for I testifie unto you it is not for the destroying of any though it may tend to the proving of many Wherefore my dear friends let none be discouraged nor terrified at what the Lord suffers to come upon you by reason of your meetings by reason of your not swearing by reason of your not going to their publick worship or by reason of any other particular thing as in relation to the truth of our God for while suffering comes upon you onely by reason of the truth you need not be ashamed of it neither will the Lord leave you comfortlesse in it for he is ready to succour such as for conscience sake suffer by reason of these things even as thousands who have found it by experience can testifie In the mean time comfort ye one another in the bowels of love and be ye tender affectionated one to another and regard not the present threatnings of men nor look not at the present tribulations but regard the truth in your selves and look unto the Lord and hear what he saith and if he speak peace be not ye troubled though men speak and prepare war against you but hold ye alwaies fast the word of Gods power and patience which is able to preserve and keep you in all your sufferings and tribulations even unto the day of salvation and unto this do I commit you all my dearly beloved friends as unto that which is able to save you all to the utmost so the peace and blessing of the Almighty be with upon and among you all for evermore I suppose many of you have heard of my bonds how that after God of his mercy had delivered me out of a mighty violent storm at Sea I was cast in here where they in Authority have shewed themselves to be worse to me and the friends with me then the Barbarious people of Melita was to Paul and them that were with him who shewed them no small kindnesse for they received and lodged them courteously but these that are called Christians shewed themselves to be barbarous rather then courteous in that they broke up our Meeting with many Souldiers and afterwards committed us to prison and in stead of shewing us much kindnesse they have been so cruell to us as that sometime it was difficult for us to get water and bread and so were farre from courteously entertaining of us or with honouring of us with many honours as the Barbarians did them before mentioned howbeit the Lord is with us and their cruelty hath been little to us for we know that our God will in his own due time deliver us out of their hands when our testimony is sufficiently born amongst them but of this I am very sensible that with the baptisme of suffering under this spirit of persecution in the Nation many are to be baptized into the fellowship of the Gospell with the Saints in light and blessed and thrice happy are they and will they be that continue faithfull unto the end for they shall be saved Farewell in the Lord in whom I remain Your dear friend and Brother WILLIAM CATON My fellow Prisoners salutes you all This for Friends to be read in their Meetings Yarmouth the 14. of the 11. Moneth 1663. DEar Friends Brethren and Sisters who are called to follow the Lamb whâ—thersoever he goeth my very soul greeteth you all with the salutation of my unfeigned and entire love in and through the eternal spirit which the God of our strength and comfort hath sent into our hearts through which I am made to share with you not only of your sufferings which you meet withall through your following of the Lamb but also of your consolation which you find in the midst of your suffering and truly my heart rejoyceth in this fellowship with you and my soul claims a part with you of all your sufferings and consolations which you meet withall in this your return to Zion and my heart is affected with the dealings of the Lord with you and with his infinite love and mercy unto you and often doth my spirit intercede unto him with strong sighes and groans which cannot easily be uttered on your behalf whom he loveth though the world hate you whom he hath respect unto though the world despise you whom he careth for though the world trample upon you whom he hath brought into fellowship with himself and with his Saints in light though the world excommunicate you wherefore then should any of you be afraid of their threatnings or regard their excommunications which in my heart I have considered of and pondred upon And this I have seen in the light of the Lord that they that cannot bring people from under the power of
saying All this will I give thee if thou will 〈◊〉 down and worship me then safe will such be as dwell in the dayly â—rosse whereby the world is Crucified unto them and they unto the world that so the wicked one may have no part in them because they are passed from death unto life feeding of and being cloathed with that which is immortal and never perishes their life standing in an eternal root who have the Lord for their portion such cannot with Esau sell their birth-right for a messe of Pottage nor with Demas chuse this present world and forsake the way of truth for in them the temptation of the enemy hath no place they living in that immortal eternal principle of life which first convinced them of the evil of the world and the spirit of wickednesse in high places that accursed root which brings noâ— forth fruit unto God in which they were once branches but are now broken off that they might be ingrafted and for ever abide in another but whoever return into the old root and nature again will become as withered branches twice dead plucked up by the roots You therefore my dear friends that know a cutting off from the old root and a grafting again into the true Vine the light of life and word of the Lord God by which your hearts are in measure cleansed sanctified and purified from the pollutions of the world abide ye in that word for ever and goe not forth to look for or covet after another dispensation of life or glory nor seek not another Kingdome besides that which is revealed in the light which as ye abide in it an enterance will be administred into it from day to day and a growth into that state and condition which the high and lofty spirits which have left their habitations and are exalted above the root of life in themselves fall short of though they may have great swelling words of those things which they have not witnessed tasted nor handled of being vainly puft up in their fleshly minds and boast of things above their line or of the estate whereunto they have not attained But this I say unto you my dear friends goe not forth unto any of these exalted spirits in any of these glorious temptations which promiseth great things but there is a lye in that which may seem to be their right hand and therefore goe not forth but abide with the Lord for ever in the measure of his eternal truth which changeth not though many may turn from it nor waxeth not old but abideth the same for ever for there is your safety And as you abide in this and stand singly girt up in it here no deceitful spirits can come nor enter but they will be seen and judged whether they come from within or from without and whatever their covering or appearance may be yet being out of the vertue and savour of life their root and ground will be seen discovered and judged and so 〈◊〉 kept clean pure and holy in the eternal light and life of God in which 〈◊〉 live walk and will have dominion over all unclean and fallen spirit who are gone from their first principle and erred from the light of life which was sown in them And so you dear and tender plants of my heavenly Father abide ye in the true Vine the light of life which the Father hath sown in you that for ever ye may be rooted fixed and established in it and bring forth fruit to perfection that the root of bitternesse and every plant which your heavenly Father hath not planted may wholly be cut up and rooted out by the two-â—â—ged Sword the Axe of the Lord God that so the plant of righteousnesse may take root and grow up in you wholly to cover the earth as the waters covers the Sea that as you have born the Image of the earthly so now you may bear the Image of the heavenly and may become a praise unto the Lord in your generation a comfort strengthening and refreshing one unto another serving the Lord with a pure heart fervently and one another in love which is the end of all ministrations and the summe of the desire of our hearts concerning you and that for which our souls travels that the love of God may abound in you and the God of love peace and mercy be with you and establish your hearts in the everlasting Covenant of his light life and Salvation that in it ye may stand for ever and bear a living testimony for him and his truth upon earth And that so it may be with you all is the fervent Supplication of my soul in the spirit that giveth life by which the endeared visitation and salutation of my love first and last reacheth to you all Farewell From a Branch of Righteousnesse sprung forth of the Root of David known unto you in the eternal ground and root of life and amongst men by the name of HENRY JACKSON The first Copy of this was written in Warwick Goale in the latter end of the 10. Moneth 1663. Where I am a Prisoner for the testimony of Christ Jesus with my dear Brother before mentioned and many more of our dear friends in the truth For the dear Plants of God in the Southern Counties Essex Suffolk Norfolk Kent or elsewhere c. to be dispersed and sent amongst them as freedome and opertunity is Yarmouth common Gaol the fourth day of the eight moneth 1663. MY dearly beloved Friends who are sensible of the breathings of life in your selves and of the power of the everlasting Gospel of peace my unfeigned brotherly love flowes forth unto you from the immortall life which the God of my life hath manifested in my mortal body and with the salutation of this my reall love do I greet you all whom God hath called and chosen in these perillous times to be a peculiar people unto himself to shew forth his praise and not your own to declare his wonderous works and not your own to get honour and renown unto him in the earth and not unto your selves for he hath bought you with a price therefore are you not your own and he hath redeemed you from the corruptible by that which is incorruptible and therefore how should you continue in that which is corruptible to the satisfying your wills and the wills of corruptible men who are in the corruptible and in their unconverted estate fulfiling their own wills shewing forth their own praise declaring their own workes admireing and worshiping of them and getting honour and renown unto themselves in the earth honouring regarding and serving the Creatures more then the Creator even as we in the times of ignorance have done before the redemption before mentioned was witnessed or the election known which now many are made witnesses of glory be unto the most high for evermore Wherefore Friends answer ye the Lords end in calling of you and his end in purchasing of you and
Satan they cannot give up them unto Satan who through the power of God are brought as you are from under Satans power 2ly I have seen that the curses of them that pretend to excommunicate you are but like the curses of Shemi that cursed David or the curses of of prophane Publicans who when they are troubled at you will curse you for the good counsel you give them when you exhort them to the fear the Lord and to forsake the evil of their waies 3ly I cannot see that they can excommunicate you out of that which many of you never were in I mean their Church or its fellowship but suppose you had been in it what evil can they lay to your charge by reason of which they should deliver you unto Satan of which they not being able to convince you ought not thâ—refore according to that which they professe to be theâ—â— Rule excommunicate any of you 4ly They should first make proofe of their Ministry through bringing people thereby from under Satans poweâ— and by bringing you first into fellowship before they had gone about to have excommunicated you out of that which many of you never have been in And though at first they may pretend love unto your souls but hoâ— do they manifest it seeing when you refuse to come at their call they presently after their manner will deliver you over unto Satan is this then love let the wise in heart judge But methinks I have seen them as men in an old decayed ruined ship at sea that was ready to perish who cryed to some that were in a safe harbour to come to their ship for safety and pretended much love unto them but they in the harbour being wise would not come into their rotten ship for many good reasons whereupon they in the ship grew angry and pretending to force them into the ship but did presently throw them into the sea before ever they got them into the ship thus their treachery appeared who pretended love but were filled with envie Is it not thus with them that goe about to draw you from your safe harbour at which many of you through mercy are arrived who while they pretend they would force you out of love to your souls into their Church fellowship do in their haste before they get you so farre deliver you so much as in them lyeth unto Satan oh who would therefore put confidence in such men for surely they are of them who rather seeks your's then you and had rather share your Estates then have your society therefore well said the Apostle Turn away from such and in the same spirit according to my measure say I Turn not again unto such least while you turn unto them you turn from following the Lamb and come then through the Lambs power to be excommunicated out of the fellowship with the Saints in light and come thereby to be delivered unto Satan which God forbid And Friends however of this I am assured and can assure you that by all their power whether Ecclesiastical or Civil they shall not be able to excommunicate you out of that Church which is in God nor out of the fellowship of the Saints in light neither shall they by their power whether Ecclesiastical or Civil deprive you of your peace and comfort in the Lord while you abide faithful Let this therefore be your comfort in the height of your sufferings when they cast you out of their Synagogues and say Let the Lord be glorified and when they spoil your goods and cast your bodies into prison and say they will make you examples that others may fear oh be not ye troubled at any of these things for the Lamb â—hom ye follow will not leave you comfortlesse for if you be in prison he will be with you if you suffer hunger he will feed you if you suffer the spoiling of your goods for the testimony of his eternal truth he is heir of all things and he hath all power in his hand who cloatheth the Lyllies and feedeth the Ravens and what will he not provide for you his followers that make warre in righteousnesse through faith under his banner of love yea yea my beloved friends he will reward you into your own bosomes though for the present you suffer such buffetting and beating such imprisonment and spoiling of your goods and such cruel usage in many respects and he will not suffer the rod of the wicked to rest alwaies upon your lot Therefore be of good chear in the midst of these your sufferings which now you are to follow the Lamb through who through sufferings was made perfect and now sits at the right hand of his father in the highest heavens where they that now suffer upon earth for his names sake shall reign with him in glory and immortality for ever and ever Wherefore comfort ye one another with these things in the midst of these your present sufferings which are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed when the Lamb and such as now follow him through suffering shall have the victory with which God of his infinite mercy crown you all my dear Brethren and Sisters and blesse you all with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in the son of his love the Captain of our salvation to whose safe custodie and protection I commit you all and remain Your dear Brother and Companion in tribulation and yet in bonds for the testimony of Iesus WILLIAM CATON Another EPISTLE To Friends DEar Brethren and Sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ I salute you in the bowells of tender love Dear Friends all keep low in the life that the living vertue you all may feel to nourish the tender Babe of God and all be tender over the principle of God in your own particulars and that will lead you to be tender over one another and all keep in the pure wisdome of God and watch one over another with a single eye and you that are strong bear the weak and come into onenesse onenesse of mind for there the blessing is so dear hearts I am filled with the streams of Gods eternal love and my streams of love floweth towards you all So friends sink down into the life and power of God that you may be preserved pure and clean that nothing may arise which would break your peace with God that you may be preserved in unity with him and one with another that pure love may spring up one to another in which love you will be all refreshed and be as a watered Garden feeling the well within from whence the living streams flowes forth and this keeps all broken and tender so all that which is hard rough untoward or pievish is kept out yea all that which would make a rent is seen and comprehended and with the light of Jesus Christ judged and you by the word of power reconciled unto God and one to another and let your meeting be in that so will you all feel the presence of the living God amongst you and there are we knit together in one and in that am I with you and near you all and feel you who are in the life and power of truth where the presence of the Lord is felt where we reign and trample upon all that which would lead from the truth So dear friends keep within and stay your minds in the light of Christ that you may grow up in the soundnesse to be of a sound mind not soon shaken but seek the rock Christ to stand upon dwell in that which changeth not that in the onenesse you may be kept for the Light of Christ changeth not to all that which is in the changing is not of Christ who changeth not And to that measure of life I commit you all which at first convinced you which begot love and tendernesse in you towards God and towards one another Ah friends in that keep so shall you feel peace RICHARD SCOCHTHRAâ— Given forth in the time of his Imprisonment at Bridewell for Gods unchangeable trurh who since finished his Testimony who travelling in the service of the Lord laid down his Earthen Tabernacle about the year 1661 far from his naâ—â—ve Coâ—â—try in the Island Zant. The End