Page 337
To Friends in Holland.
FRiends,
[unspec 1674] Do not grow barren, but in the Root abiding, ye will spring upward, and bring forth much Fruit in this Life, and in the Life to come, inherit Life Eternal; and so your Lives being hid with Christ in God, you will be made conformable to his Image, and know the Power of his Resurrection, and the Fellowship with him in his Sufferings, and the Fellowship with him in his Death, that you may have Fellowship with him in his Resurrection and Life; And as you have born the Image of the Earthly, so also you may bear the Image of the Hea∣venly: And as your Vessels hath been full of Wrath and Dishonour, so your Vessels may be full of his Mercies, and Praises to God; and as in your Old Earth hath dwelt Unrighteousness, so you may see and know the New Earth, wherein dwelleth Righteousness. There is a Belief that God is not the Author of, for such have not the Wit∣ness in themselves of what they do believe; and a Belief may be of God and Christ, and of the Scriptures, and yet such may be in Death, for they are not in Christ the Light, and so are not Children of the Light; and there is a Faith, which Christ is not the Author of, and that Faith giveth not the Victory, nor purifieth the Heart, neither do they in it please God, nor have they access to God, and that is the dead Faith which hath no Works. And there is a Hope that doth not purifie, and that Hope is that which is not of Christ, who saves, and purifieth, as he is pure; but that Hope is the Hope of the Hypocrites. And there is a Way that may be defiled, where all the Wolves, Dogs and Beasts, and the Ʋnclean passeth, and hath many turning Ways in it, and many crooked, and rough, and mountanious Ways in it; and there is the broad Way that leadeth to Destruction; and these are not the Way of Christ, that leadeth to Life, which is the narrow and strait Way. And there arem any Names in the World, by which there is no Salvation,; the Beast hath many Names, which all the World won∣dereth after, and receive the Beast's Mark, that he marketh them with his Beastly Spirit and Power, which he hath from the Dragon; but there is but one Name under the whole Heaven by which People shall be saved, and that is the Name of Jesus; and they gathering in his Name, by whom the World was made, and receiving their Father, (the Lord God Almighty's) Name and Mark in their Foreheads, Christ is in the midst of them, and they will not receive the Beast's Mark, nor will not be marked by him. And there are many Religions in the World, all which are spotted and defiled with the World's Spirit, with which they do destroy one another; but there is but one pure Reli∣gion from above, that is undefiled in the sight of God, and that keeps from the Spots of the World, and leads to visit the Widow and Fatherless in their distress; and they that receive this pure Religion from God (who is above) it is by God's Spirit, the fruits of which is Love; and this pure undefiled Religion from God hath the Glory in all the Hearts of them that do receive it, who is the Author of it; and it is above all those Religions that are below, that are made by Men's earthly, sensual and devilish Wisdom, who with it compel Peo∣ple to conform to them, and such are not gentle, pure, nor peaceable,