‘Dearly and well-beloved brethren, in the heavenly relation, and blessed immortal birth, of which we are born most dearly in our Father’s love; my salutation extendeth unto you all, as one with you perfectly in sufferings and in rejoicings, in faith and patience, and even in all things which you do and suffer for in the name of the Lord our God; and my soul greets you, and embraces you, and fervently wishes peace, love, and unity, and the increase of every good gift unto you all; for I am perfectly one with you; if you receive of our father’s fulness, I am refreshed; and if you rejoice, I am glad; and if you suffer, and be in heaviness, I freely partake with you; whatsoever is yours, whether liberty or bonds, whether life or death, I partake of the same; and whatsoever I enjoy, the same also is yours; we are of one birth, of one seed, of one line, even of the generation of him who is without beginning of days, or end of life, who is an high priest, made after the power of an endless life; and as he was blessed of the Father, so are we, because we are of the same birth, and are partakers of his nature, and he lives in us, and we in him.
‘Well, my dear companions, I need not multiply words unto you, as if you knew not these things; for what know I, that you know not? Or, what can I say, but you know the same? Yet bear with me, for my heart is very full, and my soul ready to be poured forth, that I may once more express a little quantity of what is abounding in my heart; for love, even perfect love, even that love wherewith we are beloved of the Father, filleth my heart at this time towards all of you, from the least to the greatest; and I know nothing but love towards you all; and I doubt not but in the same love you do receive this my salutation, which is from the fountain of love, which at this time is opened in my heart.
‘Now, dearly beloved, the present considerations of my heart are very many concerning the great love of the Father, which hitherto hath been showed unto us; we all know, how that he called us by his grace, and turned our hearts from the vanities and evil ways of this world, and sanctified us by his word, and put his image upon us, and called us by his name, and redeemed us unto himself, and gave us the testimony of his holy Spirit in our own hearts, that we should be his people, and he would be our God; he taught us, and instructed us, and fed us, and gave us peace and rest in himself, and freed us from the bondage of sin and corruption, and from his terror because of sin; and he removed our transgressions, and blotted them out, and ceased to smite us any more, but brought us into the land of rest, flowing with mercy, and peace, and knowledge, and all good things: this did the Lord our God do for us in the days of our infancy, even when we were yet in our sins he called us forth, and cleansed us from them: and when we were strangers to him, he made himself known unto us; and when we were wholly ignorant, he gave us knowledge; and when we were not a people, he raised us up, and made us worthy to be called by his name; and thus, after this manner, did the Father love us, and show his love unto us: this you know, even as I do, and the consideration of it causeth me thus to express it.
‘Again, when he had thus wrought for us, and showed his love unto us, he was pleased to call us out into his work, to the turning and converting of others unto the way of life; he put his Spirit into us, and gave us gifts of knowledge and utterance, and armed us with wisdom, and strength, and courage, and every way fitted us for that work and service in which he hath carried us on; he, I say, fitted us for his work, and called us into it, and carried us on joyfully in it, and all this of his free love, and infinite power; and what we have been, and what we have done, it hath been only of the Lord, and not of ourselves, even of his love, which to us may be admirable: for alas! what were we but children, and neither prophets, nor prophets’ sons, and our education unanswerable for these things, and to perform this calling? And therefore it is the Lord, and only he that hath effected his own purpose through us, and by us, as instruments mean of ourselves, but by him very excellent.
‘Again, he hath mightily prospered us in his work, and a glorious effect we have beheld of our labours, and travels, and testimony; yea, the Lord hath been with us abundantly, and his arm hath compassed us about, and he hath often given us great victory over the wise and prudent of this world; he hath made his own word often very powerful in our mouths, to the wounding of the consciences of our enemies; and the Lord hath blessed our testimony, to the confounding the wisdom of this world, and to the gathering of many unto himself; and he hath gone forth before us in his authority, and been always with us in his own work; and our testimonies, labours, and travels have been very precious and pleasant unto the Lord, and all his people; and the effect thereof causeth my soul to rejoice, because the Lord hath been with us, and prospered us into a great people, who have received our witness, and accepted thereof unto their salvation; and unto the Lord alone, the glory of all this appertaineth.
‘And for these eight years and upward, the hand of the Lord hath carried us through great labours and travels in his service, and many dangers, and persecutions, and afflictions have attended us all this time; and ye know that many a time hath the Lord delivered us from the hands of such as would have destroyed us; and we have been delivered again and again, out of dangers and difficulties, and the Lord hath been a present help unto us, in the time of our trouble; for the plotting of the wicked, for the purpose of ungodly men, hath often been broken for our sakes, even many a time have we been delivered out of the snare that hath been laid for us, and we have seen our enemies fall before us on the right hand, and on the left, even the wise in their worldly wisdom, and the foolish in their brutishness, both professors and profane hath our God often cut short in their desires and endeavours for our destruction; and we have been wonderfully preserved unto this day; and all this I attribute to the infinite love and power of the Lord God, who is blessed for evermore.
‘And through all these things we are yet alive, and the Lord doth not fail us unto this hour, but he lives and walks in us, and his testimony is with us, even the seal of his good Spirit in our hearts, that we are his sons and servants, and we are confirmed by many tokens that he is our God, and we are his people, and that great oppressions which we have met withal, have not restrained us, but through it all, have we grown, and prospered unto this day: and concerning the things whereof we have testified these divers years, I am no way doubtful but our God will fulfil them, neither can my confidence be shaken by what is or can come to pass; for antichrist must fall, false ministry and worship, false ways and doctrines, God will confound, false power and false church the Lord will lay low, and truth and righteousness must reign; and God will gather his people more and more, and glorious days will appear; God will exalt his kingdom upon earth, and throw down the kingdom of the man of sin; all oppression must cease, and the oppressors shall be no more; and God will free his people, and they shall be happy in this world, and for ever: these things have we prophesied from day to day; and my faith is constant and unmoveable, that God will effect these things in his season: for the Lord never yet deceived me, but what he hath said, will surely come to pass.
‘And therefore, brethren, let us be in hope and patience, and live in the word of patience, and not be faint-hearted, as though the Lord had forgotten us, or was unmindful of us, or as though he would not perform what he had testified of by us; for he is not a man, that he should lie, nor as a man, that he is given to change: but lift up your heads, for the Lord is with us, even in our greatest tribulations and afflictions, and he will accomplish his purpose; for he is mighty to save his people, and to destroy his enemies.
‘It is true, the gates of hell at this time seem to be open against us, and we are a people like to be swallowed up of our enemies, and floods of wickedness seem to overflow, and the waves of the great sea seem to be void of mercy, and the hope of our adversaries is to extinguish us from being a people, and to destroy us from the face of the earth; and the hands of our persecutors are highly exalted at this day, as though all that we have done for the Lord, by our labours and travels, should now be made of none effect.
‘Well, dear brethren, though it be thus, yet our God can deliver us, and confound our adversaries; and we can appeal unto our God, and can spread our cause before him: and he knows that our sufferings and afflictions are altogether unjust, and unequal, and unrighteous, and that our persecutors do afflict us out of their envy, and without any just cause administered unto them by us; our God knows it, angels and saints know it, that we are at this day a persecuted people, for religion’s sake; and this our present affliction is not any just punishment, either from the justice of God, or from the justice of men.