O Lord of heaven and earth, who hast made all things out of nothing, who hast given me members after the image of thy Son, I hope to offer them up now for thy holy name; for thou art the Lord, before whom every knee must bow, both in heaven and upon earth: hear my prayer, and let my incense be acceptable before thee. Take not thy grace from me, a polluted man of unclean lips; purify my mouth, that thy name may be praised thereby. Incline thine ear to me, and thou shalt see how they fall upon me; but it is better for me to fall into the hands of men, than to sin in thy sight; for thine eyes are as a flame of fire, and thy word as a sharp, two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and thou art a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and there is nothing hid before thine eyes. Therefore I exclaim with David, thy dear prophet, that it is better to fall into the hands of men, than into thy wrath. Matt. 11:25; Gen. 1:27; Rom. 12:1; Philip. 2:10; Is. 6:5; Susanna 23; Revelation 1:14; Heb. 4:12,13.
O Lord, lead me into the land of Haran, in which I have not so much inheritance as to set my foot on, namely, the promised land, which I pray thou wilt give me, out of grace, and not for my own works or merits. Acts 7:4,5. Deliver me with Lot from this generation. Preserve me, Lord, from the fierce teeth of the lions, which are many, yea, from the ferocious evening wolves, that let nothing remain till the morning, whose feet make haste to shed innocent blood. Zeph. 3:3; Prov. 1:16. O Lord, preserve me with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that the fire of blasphemy which proceeds out of their mouth, may not harm me. Dan. 3:27. O Lord, let my prayer be heard with that of Tobit and Sarah; hear my prayer with that of Elijah, and receive me as a burnt-offering, living, holy and acceptable unto thee, that the prophets of Jezebel may be confounded, and seduce thy people no longer. Tobit 3:1,11; 1 Kings 18:36; 19:4. Lord, preserve me with Joseph from the wicked woman, that I may rather suffer myself to be deprived of my garment, namely, my first body; for we read: “He which is joined to a harlot is one body with her.” Genesis 39:7; 1 Cor. 6:16. Preserve me, Lord; for I call heaven and earth to witness, that I die innocently; for whosoever seeks to save his life, shall lose it; and whosoever loses his life for thy sake, Lord, and the Gospel’s, shall preserve it. 1 Macc. 2:37; Matthew 16:25. Hence, I cry with old Eleazer: “I will rather die gloriously than live stained with abomination.” 2 Macc. 6:19.
O Lord, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over us, and they shall take away certain of us, and feed the idle with things offered unto idols; but thou, Lord, preservest me, thou givest thy servant bread in time of need, and water when he is thirsty, and in the day of tribulation thou forgivest sins. 2 Esdra 16:68; Sir. 2:11. And thou hast said to thy dear prophet, that though a mother forget her child to which she herself has given birth, yet wilt thou not forget us; for it is thy word, Lord. Is. 49:15. Thou hast spoken through thy dear apostle Paul: Come out from this wicked generation, and touch not the unclean thing. Then thou wilt deliver us, and be our Father, and we shall be thy sons and daughters. 2 Cor. 6:17,18. We now also go forth without the camp, and will help bear thy reproach. Heb. 13:13. Lord, teach us to pray according to thy will, that we may pray in spirit and in truth, that we may truly call thee Father; for a son must honor his father, and a servant his master. Mal. 1:6. Grant us therefore to be partakers of the word which declares: These are they who have not loved their life, but have delivered it into death; for those that are slain by men, have a better hope to expect from God, namely, that they shall be raised again; for thou provest thy chosen; thou triest them as gold in the furnace, and thou receivest them as an offering of burnt sacrifice. Ps. 66:10. Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace. Holy Father, sanctify thy Son, that I may be found unblamable at thy appearing. Keep me, holy Father for thy holy name’s sake. Amen. Luke 2:29; John 17:11.
An admonition of Adrian Corneliss, to the friends.
The rich grace and peace of God our heavenly Father, who has purified us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, has enlightened our hearts, and opened the eyes of our understanding through the hope of the Gospel, and warned us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world, and keep ourselves unspotted from this world, before God the Father, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, that at the time of revelation we may have hope and consolation, and be counted among the number of the elect. The father and his blessed Son Jesus Christ fit you for this, now and evermore. Amen. Tit. 3:5; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:18; Tit. 2:12; James 1:27; 1 Tim. 2:14.
We, fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad through cruel edicts and severe persecution, greeting. Eph. 2:19–21; 1 Peter 2:6; James 1:1. Hence, my dear brethren and sisters, do not become weary because you now suffer for a season, and have to flee from one city into another; but remember, my dear friends, that it all conduces to your happiness, and take for an example Tobit, with his wife and son, how he had to flee, and to be hid naked; likewise, Matthias with his sons and those who loved him, when he said: “Whosoever is pious and of good cheer, let him make his testament, and follow me.” Matt. 10:23; Rom. 8:28; Tobit 1:19; 1 Macc. 2:27.
Take also Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for examples, who dwelled in tents, and also others; for here we have no continuing city; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, in hunger, want and affliction, of whom the world was not worthy. Genesis 12. See, my dear friends, think not that you are the only ones, or that you are forsaken by the Lord, when some tempest assails you; but remember that we must through much suffering take the kingdom of God. Sir. 2:10; Acts 14:22. If the abovementioned had been mindful of the country from whence they came out, truly, they might have had opportunity enough to have returned; but they declare plainly that they sought a country, a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God; wherefore God was not ashamed to be called their God. Ex. 3:6. Thus, also, my dear friends, will he not be ashamed of us; for he says through his pious prophet Isaiah: “Can a mother forsake her own child, to whom she herself has given birth? Yea, she may forget it, yet will thy God not forget thee.” Is. 49:15. Consider, therefore, how the gracious Father has been with all the pious children. of God, and how he has preserved and upheld them under his powerful hand, as we may clearly understand from Abraham; for when he went into a strange country, he often had God for his comforter. He gave Jacob courage when he fled before his brother Esau. He fed Hezekiah three days and three nights, who complained of the blasphemy of Sennacherib. 2 Kings 19:6. He delivered the Jews through Judith, when they were besieged by Holofernes. Judith 13:8. He delivered the three young men from the heat of the fiery furnace, and was in the pit with Daniel, so that the lions did not devour him. Dan. 3:25; 6:22. He delivered Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh. He delivered Rahab from the shadow of death. Josh. 6:25. He saved Susanna through Daniel. He delivered Peter from prison. He delivered John from the Isle of Patmos. He comforted Paul by the vision on the way to Damascus. He comforteth the apostles through the Comforter, the Holy Ghost. He turned Joseph’s great sorrow into great joy in Egypt. Thus, God will also turn the sorrow of every one of you into great joy, even as he himself declares: “The world shall rejoice; but ye shall mourn and be sorrowful; but be of good cheer, God shall turn your sorrow into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your sorrow shall be turned into joy, and your joy no man taketh from you. John 16:20–22.
Therefore, my dear friends, be not afraid of the sons of men, who pass away as grass. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. Be not afraid, my dear friends, of this tyrannous generation; fear not them that kill the body; but I will show you whom you shall fear: fear him who after you are dead has power to cast into eternal fire. And, my dear friends, we have here a little suffering of tribulation, but it is very small in comparison with the everlasting torment or punishment.
John the Revelator says: Fear God, and give glory to him. Rev. 14:7. And the prophet Esdras says: “Behold, God himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from your sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with them forever: so shall God lead you forth, and deliver you from all trouble. For behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they shall take away certain of you, and feed you, being idle, with things offered unto idols. And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision and in reproach, and trodden under foot. For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities, a great insurrection upon those that fear the Lord. They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those that fear the Lord. For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of their houses. Then shall they be known who are my chosen; and they shall be tried as the gold in the fire.” Therefore, my chosen, behold, the days of trouble are at hand, but the Lord will deliver you from the same. Be ye not afraid, neither doubt; for God is your guide, and the Lord will not leave you orphans; for he cares for us all, and will preserve us as the apple of his eye. 2 Esdr. 16:67–75; Wis. 3:6; Jn. 14:18.
Hence, faint not at the tribulation in which we are, but adhere to the Lord, and the tempest will soon attack you; but, my dear friends, remember, as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ, since eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Eph. 3:13; Matthew 7:25; 2 Cor. 1:5; 1 Cor. 2:9. Let every one therefore, that has this hope in him, purify himself, even as he is pure, and go out from this sinful generation, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 1 John 3:3; Eph. 5:11–14.