Two general epistles, or, The breathings of love uttered from the pure life, to the wholeflock of God in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and all other places whersoever this shall come, greeting : being a wholesome exhortation ... / given forth by by that faithful servant of God, who, though he hath lately laid down the earthly body, yet he lives with his Maker forever, Edvvard Burrough.

Two general epistles, or, The breathings of love uttered from the pure life, to the wholeflock of God in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and all other places whersoever this shall come, greeting : being a wholesome exhortation ... / given forth by by that faithful servant of God, who, though he hath lately laid down the earthly body, yet he lives with his Maker forever, Edvvard Burrough.

Table of contents

Title page

The first General Epistle, &c.

THE Second GENERAL EPISTLE, to all the SAINTS whom God hath called.

POST-SCRIPT.

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TWO General Epistles; OR, The BREATHINGS of LOVE, uttered from the pure Life, to the whole Flock of God in England, Scotland and Ireland, and all other places whersoever this shall come, Greeting.

Being a Wholesome EXHORTATION, tending to the Gathering, Uniting, and Establishing of all the Faithful every-where, into that which is Eternal.

Given forth by that faithful Servant of God, who, though he hath lately laid down the Earthly Body, yet he lives with his Maker for ever.

EDVVARD BURROUGH.

LONDON, Printed for R. Wilson, 1663.

The first General Epistle, &c.

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FOrasmuch as in these our days, the God of Truth hath made manifest his Name and Truth in the hearts of his People, and hath gathered the minds of thousands into it, to worship him in the Spirit and in the Truth, in which he is accepted; and of this Truth (which is but one, and there is not another) are we made Witnesses and Ministers of, and have the Testimony in our selves that we are of God, and are a good savour unto him, in them that believe, and in them that perish; and we have the Testimony, That he that is of God heareth us, and we know the whole world lies in wickedness; and who are in the Truth, in the Light, and in the Life, have fellowship one with another, in Holiness and Righteousness, in that which comprehends the world, and condemns all the works thereof, which are evil; and this Truth, Worship and Fellowship stands in Christ Jesus the second Adam, whose Kingdom and Rule is not of this world, but from Heaven, who according to his Promise, in his Counsel hath made known his Power, to the raising up a Righteous Branch, a Royal Priesthood, and Peculiar People, zealous of his Name, to shew forth his Praise and Glory, in Justness and Righteousness, in Love, Mercy and Peace, and works of Purity, having our Conversation in Heaven; and since that day of the manifestation of this Truth of the Gospel of Peace and Salvation, which is the same now as was in the beginning, which is in Christ Jesus the Light of the world, who is the same yesterday, to day, and for ever, and changeth not; I say, since that very day hath the Lord prospered his Truth, to the renewing of many into his Image and Likeness, and to the turning of many from darkness to Light, and from Satan's power to God, by the mouth of his [Page] Ministers, and through great sufferings, and tribulations, oppressions, afflictions, and labours, hath the Lord honoured his Name and his Truth in Nations, and given it a praise among all that fear him, and hath honoured it, and exalted it in the sight of the Heathen, to the confounding of the wise and mighty, and to the bringing out of the captivity of darkness, sin and death, wherein in times past all have walked, while strangers from the Life of God, so that thousands who have received the Truth, are established in it, and cannot be moved nor shaken, but are built upon the sure Foundation, their Faith standing in the Power of God, with whom the Arm and Presence of the Lord God is, defending and preserving continually; and unto such the Truth is precious, and the Way of the Lord, his Name, and Honour is dear, yea, more than life or liberty, or any other thing which passeth away; who for the Truths sake, as it is in Christ Jesus, do daily give up themselves to suffering, and to reproach (for well-doing, and not for evil) and love not life unto death, that the Lord God and his Name and Truth may be honoured; so that in that Truth which is received and learned of the Father, daily do we walk, in all purity and holiness of life, answering the Mercy and Love of the Lord, in the exercise of a pure Conscience both towards God and man, in patience, long-suffering and wisdom towards all, to the putting to silence of gainsayers, rendring love and mercy towards our Persecutors, and are set in our hearts to fulfill the Will of God in all things: And now whereas (that the Scripture may be fulfilled) some may and have denied the Truth, which once was received and loved, to the making shipwrack of Faith and of a good Conscience, abusing the Mercy and Grace of God which to them appeared, and follow the counsel of their own hearts, and not of the Lord; having lost the feeling of the Spirit of the Father, and are and may be separated from us (in the self-separation) through an evil heart of unbelief, that it may be made manifest they are not of us, though they arise from among us, and may by disorderly walking contrary to the Truth, cause the Truth to [Page] be evil spoken of, giving occasion thereby to the Enemies of God to blaspheme his Name and Truth in the Earth, and may be a stumbling to the weak, and an offence to the Way of the Lord before the simple, thorow their Disorders and Confusions, raising the rage of the Wicked against the Lambs of Christ, being not led in the Wisdom of God, but in Confusions, taking liberty to their own hearts desire, fulfilling the will thereof, without the Fear of God, above the Cross of Christ, in the Nature uncrucified, and speaking high words in the presumption, and not in the Light and Power of God, and acting in the vanity of the mind (in the pretence of Truth and the moving of the Spirit) such things as Truth and the Children of it, who are guided with the Spirit, cannot justifie, but is judged, and denied, and cast out from among the Children of Light, who walk in the Truth, and do try the spirits whether they be of God. Therefore in the Fear of the Lord God this is written, to go abroad among Friends and others, to inform and shew unto all, that the Truth, and we that are in it, Ministers of it, do stand clear from all such, who act and speak out of the Truth, and contrary to it, in the disorder and confusion, and not in the Fear and Counsel of God; and with the Truth such are judged, and denied, and fellowship with them we have not, nor their works do approve; though such once owned us, and were convinced of the Truth, and received the Seed of the Kingdom into the unprofitable ground, yet being separated from us, and gone out from the Truth, are not subject to it and its Government, but are unruly and disorderly; We and the Truth do such deny, and the spirit that rules them, being not the Spirit of Christ Jesus; and such have done evil against their own souls, and against God, and are troublers of the righteous Seed, and have and do dishonour the Lord and his Truth, in the sight of the Heathen, causing the right Way to be reviled, and reproached, and evil spoken of, through the offence by them; to the making sad the hearts of some, whom God hath not made sad; and even more especially, in that they pretend to the Truth in their words and works, [Page] and professes to be in it, yet secretly condemning, and openly reviling the Ministers of Righteousness, which God hath blessed, and doth daily bless with his Eternal Power, to the turning many unto God, and to the strengthening of the weak and feeble, which we with many do witness, to be the Ministers of Life and Reconciliation, and there is no other, and are established in it, and cannot be moved by the temptations of the Devil, though the Wicked-one may revile for a moment, to winnow some, and to try them, and to draw the hearts and minds of others into a snare, out from the obedience to Christ Jesus, which do become mockers, and despisers and subverters of the simplicity of the Gospel of Peace, and of the Ministers and Ministry thereof, which is the Power of God unto Salvation, and there is no other, though some harden their hearts through unbelief, and blind the eye till they be past feeling, through rebellion against the Truth, which they hold in unrighteousness, and not in the Power of God, having made the offence of the Cross to cease, yet boasting in the liberty of Christ while they are unmortified, having run from the Judgment, and not truly come thorow it, in the finishing of Condemnation; and that spirit that goes out of the Cross is subverted, and seeks to subvert others from the Truth as it is in Iesus, and that spirit is denied fellowship with, though it have conformity in the hypocrisie: Wherefore this is the Word of the Lord God unto you, that erre after that spirit, Be awakened, be awakened, remember and repent, and come to your first work, to that which condemns you, lest the Lord by his Hand of Wrath and Judgement upon you, make you an example of Misery and Destruction, to all that shall hereafter deny the Lord and his Truth. Hear and consider, to the Light in you all I speak; have you another Truth than that which hath been known and declared from the beginning? is there any other way to Life, than which we have been Witnesses of, who have not handled the Word of God deceitfully among you, nor sought yours, but you, nor preached our selves, but Iesus Christ? and hereof we have the Witness in our Consciences, in the holy Ghost. [Page] And is there any other Salvation than that which God hath manifested, which is Christ Iesus the Light of the World? Be awakened and consider; Wherefore then do you separate your selves disorderly, and resist the Word of Life, which once begot you towards the Lord? Consider what you are doing, and whither you are walking, the end of your way is perdition, and that is accursed which preacheth another Gospel; how do you dishonour the Lord in the sight of the Heathen, before whom you discover your nakedness, and your shame doth appear, having put off and cast aside your armour and weapon of Truth, whereby you might have been defended; but scorners and fools take occasion through your disorders and confusions, to blaspheme the Name of the Lord, and it is through you: Oh be stirred up and consider, and search your hearts, and come to the tryal, ye that vex the Lord's Soul and grieve his Spirit, lest it cease to strive with you, and you be wholly given up to fulfill wickedness, till there be no place nor time of repentance found. And this is a Warning to you all in the presence of the living God, that you may return to your first love, to fear before the Lord, and to walk in his Truth, if there may be mercy, and to fulfill his Will, which is the Light which you are lighted withall by Christ Iesus, who is the Lamb of God, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the author and finisher of Faith, and there is not another; and know this, you that deny Him, who is given, yea unto you all, he will deny you before his Father; and of all your blood I am clear thus far, whether you resist or receive, who am the lover of your souls, sometimes loved of you, while you were lovers of the Truth; and am now a Witness for the Lord and his Truth, and against that spirit which leads you in the rebellion against the Government of Christ, which is Order and Peace, out of which you have erred, to the piercing of your own souls; and though you now exalt your selves against me, and the Truth, and boast your selves as though you reigned, yet in the Day of the Lord, shall the Light in you all, which now is darkened, bear witness to me, and of my faithfullness in reproving you; and the Truth is for [Page] ever dear to me, and my soul delights no less in it, though you rebel against it, in the heady, exalted, presumptuous, high, wilful spirit, which is not subject to the Government nor Authority of the Ministry of Christ; but Truth is over you all, and the Mountain of the Lord is established above you all, and all your words, and works, and boastings, and feignedness, and disorder, are denied, and in them we have not fellowship, but the contrary; and do in the Authority of the Lord, even by the same Authority which hath begotten us unto God, and called us, and carried us in his Work unto this day, deny you all, in that ground and state wherein you stand, till repentance and returning from whence you are fallen, to the Light which Christ hath lighted you withal.

And all faithful Friends, this is the Word of the Lord God to you; Hear and fear, walk in the Truth which ye have heard, and learned, and received of the Father, in it dwell and live, and know there is no other than that which is made manifest, which is sure to you all, and cannot deceive nor be deceived; and be not shaken in mind nor troubled, though some deny the Lord, but let their fall be a warning to you, to be more watchful, to be kept to the Lord, lest you be tempted: and dwell in the Mountain of Holiness, which no Beast can touch, where is a hiding-place to preserve you in the time of tryal; and I charge you all in the presence of the living God of Life, let your minds be setled, and hearts stayed in the Truth, which is the Foundation of God, and know the Armour of God to gird you up to God, where no offence is taken against Christ, nor against the way of Truth, but the Power of God doth remove that which would be offended, and tramples upon that which gives the offence, and in this you will be preserved until the day of Salvation; and be aware of that spirit which boasts above the measure, and of that which makes the offence of the Cross to cease, for there hardness of heart and unbelief enters, and so another is followed than the Light, and another joyned to than Christ Jesus, and there is the way to perdition; who go from the Light within them, they deny God and his Truth, and [Page] follow the imaginations of the foolish heart, and run in rashness and in the frowardness, and that ground receives the unclean spirit in again, with seven worse, and the laiter end is worse than the beginning; and this Truth doth not change, which is the begotten of the Father, but is the same for ever: So in it all be faithful and fruitful to the Father in your places and callings, shewing forth in all wisdom and pure conversation among your enemies, to the putting them to silence when they speak evil of you; and be Examples of Holiness one to another, that the Lord God may dwell among you, and may never have cause to withhold his Presence from you, which is Life and Peace, and Rest for ever: and believe not every spirit, but dwell in that which discerns spirits; and if any say, Lo here, or Lo there is Christ, go not after them without you, for you have not been so taught; but know the Christ of God, the Lamb of God within you, and follow him, and obey his Voice; and be established all of you, on this sure Foundation, whom God hath laid, & no man can lay any other, and if you build thereon and thereby, you shall never suffer loss, but your work shall abide the fire, and in the Father's house your bread you shall receive, and never shall hunger nor thirst, but the Life will be refreshed and encreased daily, and your Lamp will alwayes shine, and you shall never be darkned, nor stumble; for that which stumbles is out of the Truth, and the ground stands to receive the seed of Satan, who is a devourer of the simplicity, and the betrayer from the Truth; Therefore I charge you all in the presence of the living God, that you hold fast the Faith and Hope which you have received through the Gospel, that you may never be moved from the Grace of God, and from the Love that hath abounded in you, but may be found watching in the door, with your Light shining when the Bridegroom cometh; and, behold he cometh quickly, and his Reward is with him; blessed are they that tarry for him.

This is the Testimony of my Love unto all the Seed of God, who am as a deceiver, and yet true, as not known, and yet well known unto the Lord. E. B.

THE Second GENERAL EPISTLE, to all the SAINTS whom God hath called.

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TO all the Children of Light every-where, who fear and love the Lord, who are begotten of God, and unto whom he is known in the Spirit and in the Truth; this is a Testimony of the Father's Love unto you. Grace, Mercy, and Peace from him that liveth for ever. The God of Light and Life be multiplied in you all, that you may daily be renewed in strength, and girded with Truth, and armed with the whole Armour of God, and may be kept by his Power until the day of Salvation, to walk in the Government and subjection to Jesus Christ, witnessing the Power and Presence of God in you, and amongst you, giving you power to fulfil his Will in all things; and that in all Righteousness, and out of all Evil you may be led, and preserved unto the end, and in the end, to shew forth the praises of God in this Generation, as a People called of him, and redeemed by him for his Glories sake; even so Amen, and Amen.

Dearly Beloved, be not ignorant, but this know, This is the Message which came unto you, which is true and faithful, and everlasting, That the true God is Light, and in him is no darkness at all; and this is the Message of Peace and Reconciliation, and of Glad-tydings unto all that have sought the Lord, which we received of him, and you have heard, and there is not another to be declared; and all that have received it, are gathered up to God, and are in Covenant with him, and one with another, and are in that which reconcileth [Page] and joyneth unto Christ Jesus, the Husband and second Adam, who is the Lord from Heaven, the Prince of Peace, the Saviour and the Deliverer, who is made manifest in Power, and condemneth the Transgressor, and slaveth the Enmity, and raiseth the Life out of Death; and this is he who kills and makes alive, even the God who is Light, who brings down one, and sets up another; who makes War against the Mighty, and gives Peace to the Poor, and besides him there is none; he searcheth mans heart, and tryeth the reins, and knoweth the thoughts, and every creature is manifest in his sight, who gives to every one according to his doings; and this is he who standeth in the Congregation of the Righteous, even in the midst of us, and sitteth Judge among the gods; unto him must all the gods of the Earth bow, and the inhabitants of the Earth must tremble before him, and unto him every tongue shall confess, and the light in every man shall answer when he ariseth to Judgement, who is a swift Witness to condemn or justifie all the children of men upon the face of the Earth.

This is the God of Truth whom we worship, and who will be worshipped in spirit and in truth; who is the God of Abraham and his seed for ever, and with him there is no change nor shadow of turning; and he hath made known his Name and his Power, and his wonderful works in this his day, and hath caused his Voice to be heard in the Earth; and the dead have heard, and now live.

And his Name is exalted on high amongst all that fear him and obey his Voice; and he hath given his Son a Covenant of Light, who lighteth every man that cometh into the world with the true Light of Life, or Condemnation; that all who receive him may come to the knowledge of the Father, whom to know is life eternal.

And this is the Christ, the Saviour, in whom we have believed, and which we preach, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Foundation of God which cannot be moved; The Word of God is his Name, and there is no other Name given for Salvation: This is she that was dead, and is aliue, [Page]and lives for evermore, and there is no other to be looked for; if any preach any other, let him be accursed; and if any bring any other Message, let them not be received.

And all you who have believed in this Christ Jesus, who is the Light of the World, and who have received the knowledge of this God, who is Light himself, and that searcheth your hearts, I exhort you, and warn you all in his presence that lives for ever, to wait upon him, and to fear before him, and to walk with him for ever in uprightness of heart, which is of great price in his sight, and forget not his righteous Judgements which he hath made known, lest you wax fat through mercies, and rebel against him, and become disobedient and gainsaying, and so be destroyed from being a People; but be stayed upon the Lord, and let your hearts be established with Grace, and be not tossed nor shaken with any wind of the Doctrines of men, which is not from the Life of God, nor reaches to the life in you, but begets into Idolatry, to worship other gods than he who is Light; and be not troubled at temptations nor sufferings, nor at reproaches, nor any other thing, but stand in the Counsel of God, and in his long-suffering, and wait patiently upon him in your own measure of the Grace of God received, which is sufficient to preserve you, that Victory over Death, and over him that hath the power over it, you may receive, to trample upon all that which is contrary to the Life of God within you, and without you; neither be you troubled nor offended in Christ if any among you deny the Lord, and backslide from his pure Way through an evil heart of unbelief, and so become disobedient children, and vex the righteous Soul; such shall bear their own burden and condemnation in the day of the Lord; and know, that Truth changeth not, but is the same for ever, though the deceitful hearted through unbelief depart from it, and choose their own wayes, and despise the Counsel of the Lord, to their own destruction; but be ye more watchful, faithful, and valiant for the Truth upon Earth unto the end, that you may be found faithful Witnesses unto the Name of the Lord in this crooked Generation, and [Page] may receive the fulfilling of the Promise of God, and may witness God with you, the Emmanuel, the Saviour, God with us; and this is the whole Salvation, and there is no other to be expected or witnessed than this, That God dwells in us, and walks in us, according to his Promise; and all that know this, need not go forth to the right hand or to the left, but Salvation is come unto us, he that takes away sin, and saves from it, and from condemnation; and they who witness this, are begotten by the Word of God, and born of the immortal Seed, and are new Creatures; and there is now no Condemnation, but the reward of Righteousness and Peace unto us, who are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit; and here we witness the Lord is our God, and we are his People, and he sees no sin in us who are born of him, nor remembers iniquity; but his Covenant is with us, and the Kingdom is become the Lords, and his dominion is set up, where God is all in all, where the Prince of darkness is cast out; and this is the end and substance of all Ministrations, which we bear witness of: And I do exhort all you who are called of God every where, patiently to wait in the Way of the Lord, and in his Judgments to receive this, and to possess it within you, that you may be worshippers of God, and doers of his Will, and may have the Witness that you are accepted of him, and may know your Calling and Election sure, where nothing that defileth can enter, but that may be taken away and removed; and Him you may feel and witness, which Satan hath nothing in, who is the second Adam, and cannot be overcome, but is greater than the first Adam who was overcome (though innocent) and is lost from the presence of God; but he in whom there is no sin, and who cannot transgress, comes to seek and to save that which was lost in sin, and to bring back that which was driven away by sin; and He is greater than Innocency, and overcometh the Devil, and is called the Son of God; and to him that overcometh, who is the Light of the World, is all Power given of the Father; And know Him in you all to be the greatest, who is not of the world, nor cannot bow to the Devil, to give you dominion [Page] and authority over all the World, and the powers of Hell and Death, even He who sealeth up the old Dragon in perdition never more to deceive; And they w [...] witness this, know the Election which it is not possible to [...]ceive, or be deceived; and as every one of you have received Him who is the Lord from Heaven, so let your Faith stand in Him, and walk in Him; and let all your conversations be ordered by Him, in all pure and blameless walking in the sight of your Enemies, that it may be manifest that you are branches in Him, and that you have received power to become the Sons of God, and that you are Heirs of the Inheritance which shall not fade away. And all you that witness this, your eye is opened to see God, and you are cleansed from sin by the Word of God, and you have received the Peace with God, and glad-tydings from him in your own souls; and this is Salvation by the second Adam: herein be established and setled, and look not for another; for there is not any besides this Saviour and this Salvation, but if any preach another, believe them not; and if any cry, Lo here, and Lo there is Christ without you, go not after them nor follow them, but know him within you, which is greater than all; yea, if we our selves, or an Angel from Heaven, preach any other Iesus than he which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, or any other Salvation than God with us, let us be accursed; for this is the Gospel of our Salvation, Christ Iesus within us the hope of Glory, the Power and Wisdom of God to rule and reign in us, by which we are changed from Death to Life, and translated from the power of Darkness into the Kingdom of his dear Son.

And now all Friends and Elect of God, who are called and faithfull, you that have received this Testimony which God hath given of the Son, and which the Son hath given of the Father, which in faithfulness hath been testified in this generation, I exhort you all in the fear and counsel of the Lord, take heed to that which you have believed, and heard, and learned of the Father, which is the Truth as it is in Jesus, and shall abide forever; and be not removed from your [Page] hope, nor given to change, but mind the Life of God in you all, which is immortal, and is but one, and it answereth to the Lord in Judgments, and in Mercies one to another in that which is righteous and just, and witnesseth against all the works of the world, which are evil, and not wrought in God.

Ye that know this which is of the Father in you, dwell in it, and walk in it, and be not shaken out of it, nor removed from it, for it is the Way of Peace unto Everlasting Rest, where there is no sorrow, but Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the holy Ghost; and every one in particular have Salt in your selves to savour withal, that you may resist the wicked-one in all his temptations, and may not joyn to any thing which is out of Union, and contrary to the Life of God, and to the Truth which you have received; that you may never be betrayed of your hope, nor of the simplicity which is in Christ Jesus, in which the Father is well-pleased; and let the Light of the World guide you in all things, that your works may be wrought in God, never to be condemned, nor you to suffer loss; knowing this first, That none are justified by him but them that are led and guided by him; and to whom he is a Saviour, he is also a Teacher, and he is given to teach in all the wayes of Truth.

And now let your fellowship be in the Power and Life of God, and know not one another in words onely, and in shews, and in outward appearance, but witness one another in the Spirit and in the Truth, and have communion there in breaking the Bread of Life, that Christ Iesus may be seen to be the Head in you, and you Members to serve him, and one another, all receiving Wisdom from the Head, and Vertue from the Vine (Christ Iesus) that you may abound in Love, Mercy and Peace, and all the fruits of Righteousness unto the Father, and dwell in the Fear and Counsel of God, and be subject to his Will, not despising the Cross which is the Power of God, which slayes the birth that is born of the flesh, which is not heir of the Promise; but walk in the Cross daily, that your understanding may be kept open [Page] to try and discern all spirits, whether they be of God; and believe not every spirit, for lying spirits may arise among your selves, and go forth from the Light, who are not in the Truth, but in the feignedness and hypocrisie, with false visions and lying imaginations, handling the Word of God deceitfully, corrupting and perverting the pure Way of God, having the Form, but not the Power, having left the Power, and gone from the Light; and such utter the words of Truth without the Life, and is but as the Chaff to the Wheat, and they are to be denyed and resisted, and not joyned to, lest Innocency and Simplicity be betrayed, and your Faith made void, and so you be destroyed from the Life of God, and Death surprize you, and Darkness enter into your dwellings, and so Unbelief, Doubtings, Murmurings, and Lustings after Evil arise in you, and you be perverted from the Worship of the true God, and grieve his righteous Spirit by bowing to Idols, and following of other Lovers, and so the true God, which hath brought you out of Egypt, and made manifest his Power in you, be forgotten, and the Faith of his Son made shipwrack of, and your latter end be worse than the beginning, and the Name of the Lord be dishonoured by you; and then wo be unto you, his Wrath shall suddenly break out against you: Wherefore hear, and fear, and hearken unto the Word of the Lord, He hath caused his Light to shine forth, and his Voice to be heard; He hath proclaimed his Name among you, and hath caused his marvellous Light to approach, when you sate in darkness in the Land of the shadow of death; when you were lost, he sought you; and when you were driven away and scattered, he found you, and brought you home; when you were in your blood, and no eye pittyed you, he had mercy upon you, and bound you up, and healed you; when you were dead, he said unto you, Live, and it was so; when you were led captive by the Devil, under the power of Death, he brake the Chains, and set you free; and when there was none to help and to save, his own Arm brought Deliverance and Salvation, and the Way of Life and Peace he set before you.

[Page] And now all this hath his own Arm accomplished, that you should be a praise unto him for evermore; and if you walk in the way which he hath set before you, and keep his Covenant which he hath made with you, and fulfill his Will, and walk in Righteousness, in Love and Unity, in Meekness, Lowliness, Humbleness, and in Soberness and Watchfulness, and in Fear of his Name; then shall his Presence never forsake you, nor his out-stretched Arm cease to defend and preserve you, but he shall go before you, and be your reward; and he shall be your God, and you shall be his People; and you shall dwell in him, and he shall be your hiding-place; and he will be to you a Father, and you shall be his Children, and his Blessing and Peace shall remain in your habitations for ever and ever: but if any of you turn aside for a thing of nought after vanity, and deny the Way of Righteousness, and forget the Lord, and kick against him, and follow the way and counsels of your own hearts, and worship other gods, and joyn your selves to strangers, and commit Adultery with other Lovers, and make the Cross of Christ of none-effect, and turn from the Light of Christ within you, and fulfill your own wills, and the desire of your own minds, and go out of the Fear of the Lord into the liberty of the flesh (which is not the Liberty in Christ Jesus) and so seek your selves, and strive for mastery to be one above another, and so surmise evil one against another, and the bond of Peace be broken, and vain contention and strife appear; then shall the Rod of God smite you, and his Wrath be suddenly kindled against you, and you shall not prosper, but his Countenance shall be hid, and the Terrors of the Lord, and Lamentations shall possess you, and Peace shall flee far from you, and such shall be cast out of the Camp of the Lord, and shall have no part in the Inheritance, but the Blessing shall depart, and the Curse shall enter till utter destruction; yea, and if any of you deny the Lord, unto whom his Way is made manifest, he will deny you, and you shall have no part in him, but Vengeance in flames of fire will he render upon the disobedient, manifold more than if his Love and way of Peace had not been [Page] made manifest to you, and the Light of the World is your Condemnation for evermore, if you turn from it.

And in the presence of the living God, I warn you all, Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which brings any other Message than what hath been declared from the beginning; believe not him which cryes, Lo here, or Lo there is Christ without you, or that draweth from the measure of Christ within you, to hearken to, or to be taught by any other thing; for that spirit is not of the Father, which preacheth any other Christ, than he that is the Light of the World, and lighteth every man that cometh into the World, and which bringeth any other Message than that God is light in himself, and hath given his Son a Light into the World: And this is the true Testimony of the Father and of the Son, and he that testifieth any other Message, is to be judged and denyed; he is not a Worshipper of the true God, but out of the Truth, and in the Errour, and a Deceiver, and being deceived.

Again;

Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which ministers to others that which it hath not learned of the Father, but hath the words without the Power, and lives not in the Power of what it ministers forth in words, nor is not what it declares, but is in the outward shews, in the hypocrisie and feignedness, and reacheth not the Life of God, but vails and covers it; and that spirit is not of the Father, but is to be denied and judged, and not received nor believed.

Again;

Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which is at liberty in the flesh, and makes the Offence of the Cross to cease, which is exalted out of the Fear of the Lord, in the liberty of the earthly, which crucifies the Life, and darkens the eye; and that spirit will boast of Joy, and Peace, and experience, and knowledge, and speak high words in the airy mind, and that would lead you out of your conditions to glory above [Page] the Cross, till you be past feeling of the Life; and that spirit begets into feignedness and hypocrisie, and into the love of the world which passes away; and beware of that spirit, for it is not of the Father, but to be condemned.

Again;

Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which is hasty, and forward, and rash, for that goeth out of God's Counsel, and betrayes the Just, and strives to be greatest, and to be above the weak, and despiseth him, and would be Master, and not a servant, and would rule, and not be ruled in the meek and lowly Government of Christ, and that spirit will judge out of thoughts rashly and unsavourily, and condemn another in secret in what it self is guilty of; beware of that spirit, for it is not of God, but to be judged with the Life of God.

Again;

Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which seeks it self to have praise of men, and to be accounted, and would beget into divisions, and would have parties to it self, and respects persons, and glories in gifts, and knowledge, and parts, more than in the Giver, and admires men more than He that gives the encrease, and feeds of the knowledge in that nature which is to be famished, and glorieth in what hath been done by it, as though it had not received power from the Lord, and is exalted as though it bare the root, not knowing that it is born of the root; and that spirit spends its treasure which it received in the Father's house, amongst harlots, and despiseth the poor, and seeks occasion to glory over the weak, that it may be renowned; beware of that spirit I charge you all, for it is not of the Father, nor to be followed, but to be condemned, and resisted unto death.

Again;

Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which preacheth not from the measure of God received, and to be manifest to it in you, and approved by it only, but speaks above the measure, and reaches▪ not to the measure of the Grace of God; that spirit leads after words and outward shews, and cryes [Page] Peace to the Rich, and Judgment to the Poor, and the Word of God is not divided aright, but heals up falsly, and daubs with untempered mortar, and cryes Peace where God speaks War; and cryes War where God speaks Peace; and that spirit is a deceiver and a betrayer, and feeds but the ear, and not the Life, and darkens the Counsel of God by words without knowledge, and is not of the Father, but of the world, and to be denyed and condemned.

Again;

Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which is not subject to rule and order, and is not meek and diligent, and long-suffering, but heady, high and untoward, seeking occasions against the Just, and watcheth for evil; that spirit will not bear reproof, but is idle, sloathful and careless, surmising evil, and backbiting, and conforms in appearance, making a fair shew, but it is not unto God, as appearing unto man; and that would go, and is not called; and will not go when it is called; and seeks for the praise of men more than God; and that is fruitless ground, and brings forth bryars and thorns in secret, which choaks the Seed of God: beware of that spirit, it is a lover of this world; have no fellowship with it, for it is not of the Father, but a deceiver, and is to be denyed.

Again;

Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which is tossed and unsetled, and is given to change, and is not established with Grace; that is an Adulterer, and hunts for the precious life, and seeks by flattery to beguile the Innocent; that spirit is zealous for a moment, but is soon overcome, and is stony ground, and brings not forth fruit to perfection, but withers, and its latter end is worse than the beginning. That spirit is exalted into presumption, and in peace, and cast into desperation and trouble, and the double-mind lodgeth in it, and it is unstable in all its wayes, and is a ground for the seed of Satan, and to it there is no peace from God; and beware of that spirit, for it is not of the Father, but to be condemned.

[Page] Again;

Believe not that spirit, neither follow it, which is more zealous than knowing, whose zeal is without true knowledge, and stands in that which is corrupted; that flourisheth for a moment, but cannot endure for ever; it hath no root in it self, but is furious and passionate, and not long-suffering; that spirit knows not it self, but would devour its adversary with bitterness, and not gain'd by long-suffering; that is not the Spirit of the Father, but must be denied in all.

Again;

Believe not that spirit which draws back into the world, into its lusts, liberty, and fashions which passe away; that spirit forgets God, and draws back, for his soul hath no pleasure in it, but is vexed with it, where the Cross is made of none effect, and the false liberty is walked in, which murders the Life; that spirit is of the Devil, and is to be condemned.

And now all Friends of God every-where, who know him and are known of him, whom he hath gathered out of this untoward Generation; be diligent in your Callings, and keep your Meetings in faithfulness, waiting upon the Lord, that you all may receive of his Fulness to be filled with it, and may be nourished up unto himself, as Trees of Righteousness, the planting of his own right-hand, to spread forth his Name and Glory, as a People saved by him, and unto whom there is none like besides. And this know and understand, that spirit is not of the Father which confesseth not the Son to be come in the flesh, who destroyes the works of the Devil, and takes away sin; and that Spirit believe and follow which condemns sin, and destroyes it, and takes it away, and so gives Peace with God in your own Consciences, and leads you into all Truth, and keeps you from all Evil: and you that witness this, the Son you know, and the Father you know to dwell with you, and in you; and this is the first and the last; believe in him, and follow him, and look not for any other; and in this the Father of Life and Glory, whose [Page] Dominion is without beginning and end, stablish you, and preserve you, Amen, and Amen.

I a beloved Brother, and a Companion unto all the Saints in suffering, and in rejoycing, who have received this Testimony from the Father, do with it in this Epistle salute the whole Church in the Love of the Father, as moved of Him by his Eternal Spirit, who beareth witness to me that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness, and that all that are of God heareth us. And this Testimony I give of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Truth, and of the Salvation of which I am made a Witness, and against all that ever shall deny it, or turn from it: And this is thus far the words of my Testimony by the Spirit of the Father, not knowing when the time comes it may be finished, and the night may come when no man can work:

Edward Burrough.

THE END.

POST-SCRIPT.

[Page]

FOrasmuch as many who are partakers of the Father's Love, manifested in his Son in measure, in whom these Epistles have found greeting, With the same Love in the upright-hearted, to which it is a sure Testimony of Love from Life it self, to the quickning, strengthning, confirming, and arming of all such as have in the Love, Life and Power, heard, received and believed the Truth, as it hath been declared, and is in Iesus, in whom our Faith is standing; which Faith worketh by the Love shed abroad in our hearts, wherein we are reaching after each other in the sameness of Love, which is the bond of our Unity, wherein we are called together to be joyned in the purity, power and life of one Faith and Love, therein to bear Testimony (as we have in our measures received) to, and of the Everlasting Truth; wherein finding these Epistles of such manifold service to the whole Body, both for instruction, exhortation, strengthning and forewarning, whereby there is or may be a safe arming against all deceit and deceivable spirits; Hence it is from the earnest love and desire stirred up in many here among us that are faithful, whereby this they put in print, that thereby the service may reach unto all who are worthy thereof in these Nations, for to them is it sent, who are called of God; Therefore in the Fear of the Lord let every one of us, to whom this comes, walk worthy of the Fathers Love, Grace, Mercy and Peace, whereinto we are called in one Body, of which Christ is Head.

A. D.

Information about this book

Title statement

Two general epistles, or, The breathings of love uttered from the pure life, to the wholeflock of God in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and all other places whersoever this shall come, greeting : being a wholesome exhortation ... / given forth by by that faithful servant of God, who, though he hath lately laid down the earthly body, yet he lives with his Maker forever, Edvvard Burrough.

Burrough, Edward, 1634-1662.

Edition statement

1663

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2004-08 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A30559

ID [STC]

Wing B6052

ID [STC]

ESTC R6045

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

12271149

ID [OCLC]

ocm 12271149

ID [VID]

58251

Availability

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A30559)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 58251)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 861:28 or 2605:1j)

Source

— Two general epistles, or, The breathings of love uttered from the pure life, to the wholeflock of God in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and all other places whersoever this shall come, greeting : being a wholesome exhortation ... / given forth by by that faithful servant of God, who, though he hath lately laid down the earthly body, yet he lives with his Maker forever, Edvvard Burrough., Burrough, Edward, 1634-1662..

Extent

[2], 3-31 [i.e. 23] p.

Printed for R. Wilson,. London :: 1663.. (Error in paging: p. 23 numbered 31.) (Imperfect: copy at reel 2605:1j lacks p. 31 [23], "Post Script".) (Reproduction of originals in: Huntington Library and Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales.)

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