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<DATE>2012-01-03</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B111111.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">47683501</BIBNO>
<VID>172960</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>An Epi&s;tle of tender Love to all Friends that are tender hearted, who are tender of the Honour of God, and &s;eek the Glory of his worthy Name, and the Pro|&s;perity of his precious Truth, and the Peace and &V;nity of the Church of Chri&s;t in this his ble&s;&s;ed Day.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Dear Friends, Brethren and Si&s;ters,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>TO you is the Salutation of my Love in the Lord, who are called and cho&s;en of the Lord to be faithful Witne&s;&s;es to his Name, and Truth in this his glorious Day; wherein he is appeared in the Brightne&s;s of his Glory through his ble&s;&s;ed Son Chri&s;t Je&s;us our ble&s;&s;ed Lord and Saviour, to bring many home to him&s;elf that were a far off from him, that they may know a Habitation of Safety and a quiet dwelling Place, and be e&s;tabli&s;hed upon that &s;ure la&s;ting Rock, that the Gates of Hell cannot prevail a|gain&s;t my tender Friends; you that are come to the &s;ure Foundation &s;tand fa&s;t, and keep to Chri&s;t your Rock, he that was the Rock of the Righteous in all Ages, and in every Generation &s;ince the World began, and he will remain the &s;ame forever; therefore dear Friends, hold fa&s;t your hope in him, that he may e&s;ta|bli&s;h your Goings in the Path of Holine&s;s, and ble&s;&s;ed way of Life, that he hath ca&s;t up by the word of his pure Power in this his glorious Day; wherein he hath ble&s;&s;ed you with a true and certain knowledge of the My&s;teries of his Kingdom, the way of Life and Salvation, and made you partakers of his heavenly Trea&s;ure; you that were poor in Spirit hath he made rich in Faith, and you that were weak hath he made &s;trong in the Lord, and in the Power of his might; that you may be able to &s;tand in the Dominion of that bright &s;hining Light, Life and Power of <HI>Immanuel,</HI> God with us, as a faithful Warrior again&s;t the man of &s;in, both within and without: Oh my dear Friends, be bold and valiant, for the Lord and his Truth, and as the Valiants of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> be diligent, and fervent in your Zeal and Courage, to per&s;evere in the Work of the Lord, and keep your <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> Name and power, and be faithful in your Te&s;tiimony for his ble&s;&s;ed Truth, even unto the End, again&s;t all Oppo|&s;ition what&s;oever, and let nothing take place in your Hearts, to di&s;courage or weaken you in your Te&s;timony again&s;t that Spirit of Divi&s;ion and Separation, that op|po&s;eth the good Order and Di&s;cipline of the Church of Chri&s;t, that is e&s;tabli&s;hed among&s;t you by the Power of God: Tho&s;e that are crying out again&s;t Orders and Forms; but Wi&s;dom is ju&s;tified of her Children, and their Folly is made manife&s;t, and their Fruits declare them to be &s;ome of the wandring Stars, that have lo&s;t their light; notwith&s;tanding their &s;pecious Pretences the lea&s;t Child of Light, who&s;e Under&s;tanding is kept open and clear, may &s;ee that blindne&s;s and darkne&s;s is over them, &s;o that they do not &s;ee their own Works of what &s;ort they are; who are pre&s;cribing Orders for friends, and a Form for them to walk by, and how they &s;hall keep their Men and Womens Meetings, and in what Method and Form; and yet are oppo&s;ing the Form of Godline&s;s that is attended by the Power, as you that have been faith|ful in the Lord's Work and Service, are Members of tho&s;e Meetings which they de&s;pi&s;e, and are made living Witne&s;&s;es of, and have had large Experience of his Power and Pre&s;ence to attend you from day to day, in your Works of Piety and Charity; and feel his Ble&s;|&s;ings &s;howred down upon you to your great Comfort, and living Refre&s;hment; pure Prai&s;es to the Lord our God over all forever, who is the Rock of our Safety, as our Eye is to him; therefore have we no cau&s;e to be di&s;cou|raged, though Men de&s;pi&s;e and revile us, for God is with us of a truth; &s;o we have good cau&s;e to believe that he will fight the Battle for us, and be too hard for them, and overturn them all in his own appointed Time and Sea&s;on, that ri&s;e up again&s;t us; therefore in pati|ence po&s;&s;e&s;s your Soul, and ca&s;t your Care upon the Lord, who careth for you, and will &s;tand by you, and uphold you by his Power, and make way for you through all the&s;e things, that you &s;hall be able to hold out to the End, and never grow weary of well-doing, as you fol|low Chri&s;t in the daily Cro&s;s; it's you that God will crown, but it's grievous to &s;ome that come forth with us to go from us, and turn again&s;t us <HI>Demas</HI> like, and prove di&s;turbers of the Churche's Peace, by their oppo|&s;iton and vain jangling again&s;t Orders and Di&s;cipline, and pretend they &s;tand for their own, and others liberties in Chri&s;t, and yet would deny liberty to others, <HI>(viz.)</HI> to young People who have a de&s;ire to come to Men and Womens Meetings, and Friends of other Coun|ties, if they are with us, they are al&s;o denied by them their liberty to come into their Meeting; &s;o are not the&s;e in confu&s;ion that pretend one thing and practice another at the &s;ame Time, who have publi&s;hed their own weakne&s;s to the Nation, by their Endeavours to reproach Friends, thinking thereby to cover them|&s;elves; becau&s;e they &s;ay, they have not cau&s;ed the&s;e Rents and Divi&s;ions, and Differences among Friends, by bring|ing in any new Doctrine or un&s;criptural Di&s;cipline, but have made it out how and which way they were the cau&s;e of it very plain, that it is ea&s;ier to be under&s;tood, <HI>(viz.)</HI> by oppo&s;ing the good Order and Di&s;cipline, &s;et|led and e&s;tabli&s;hed among Friends, as it is to be &s;een in a printed Paper, the Title <HI>A Memorial for the pre&s;ent Ge|neration,</HI> and al&s;o for that which is to come; wherein they declare their di&s;like, and what oppo&s;ition, they &s;till &s;tood in again&s;t Friends, and &s;till do &s;tand in the &s;ame, and re&s;olved as I under&s;tand to continue in the Separation, except Friends will make a bargain with them, and give it under their hands in writing, to <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> and &s;o deny them Liberty of Con&s;cience, which they &s;eem to conted for in words, but in work they deny it to others; they having lo&s;t the Power which &s;hould make way for their Te&s;ti|monies; now they would come in upon Terms to be ac|cepted as Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t&punc; but his Mini&s;ters are atten|ded with his Power, which makes way for them in the Hearts of all People, where the Ground is good, who&s;e Minds are well inclined, that they receive their Te&s;timo|ny with gladne&s;s of heart, as you are right &s;en&s;ible Ble&s;&s;ed be the Name of the Lord forever, &s;o need not complain for want of acceptance as they do: But my dear Friends, let none of the&s;e things di&s;courage you in the Work and Service of the Lord, and &s;tand over their Spirit, and touch not with them; but go on and do the work of your day with chearfulne&s;s of heart, and readine&s;s of mind, and fear not to &s;tand in that Power, that will give you to &s;ee over the Devil and his In&s;tru|ments; that have that Power of God in deri&s;ion, and al&s;o that inward Sen&s;e as not &s;ufficient to try Spirits by; but you that are Members of that Body of which Chri&s;t is Head, are &s;ea&s;oned with his Grace, and know the In&s;piration of the Almighty, to give you an under&s;tand|ing; and you have an inward Sen&s;e by that Spirit which &s;earcheth all things, yea the deep things of God; and by this inward Sen&s;e you are able to try Spirits whe|ther they are of God or not; and this gives you to &s;ee over the Devil, and his In&s;truments and Authority to judge them, and deny them, as moved &s;o to do; &s;o dear Children, and cho&s;en of the Lord, keep your Dominion in the Truth, and hold fa&s;t that which you have received of God, that none take your Crown, which the Lord your God hath laid up in &s;tore for all his Saints, and &s;anctified in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, that are faithful unto the death; they &s;hall have a Crown of Life, and as one &s;aid in his day to the Primitive Chri|&s;tians, &s;o &s;ay I to you, <HI>take heed that none &s;poil you with Philo&s;ophy and vain Deceit,</HI> or &s;en&s;ual Wi&s;dom and
<PB REF="2">fair Pretences from fal&s;e Brethren, which may have a &s;hew of Humility in Will-wor&s;hip, not holding Chri&s;t the Head, unto which every Member is joyntly knit; from &s;uch turn away, and cleave to the Lord with your whole Heart, and hold fa&s;t the hope of the Go&s;pel un|to the End, that your Bow may abide in &s;trength, and the Lord fill your Quivers with polli&s;hed Arrows, that you may &s;hoot at <HI>Babylon</HI> the Mother of Confu&s;ion, and wound her to the Heart, and &s;pare not her Merchants, for they mu&s;t weep and mourn, for the Day of the Lord will overtake them; therefore put on Strength and Courage, and &s;tand in that Power, that will make you victorious over all <HI>Zion's</HI> Enemies, both within and without; then &s;hall <HI>Zion's</HI> Children rejoyce in the Lord the God of all our Mercies, and &s;ing high Prai&s;es with Glory and Hononour to his Honourable Name, and glorious Power; becau&s;e of his goodne&s;s and matchle&s;s Mercies unto us: for he is a &s;howring down of his &s;piritual Ble&s;&s;ings, and living Mercies to the gladding of the Hearts of his People, for this is the Portion of the Righteous; therefore lift up your Heads the cho&s;en of the Lord, and rejoice in the God of your Salvation, who hath promi&s;ed to create <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> a Re|joycer, and her People a Joy, and he is fulfilling the &s;ame in the Hearts of <HI>Zion</HI>'s Children; pure Prai&s;e to his worthy Name for evermore; &s;o let none of the&s;e Contenders trouble you with their printing this un&s;a|vory Memorial; for if they have no better Fruits to publi&s;h to the World than this, <HI>Viz.</HI> their Contention with their Brethren, and Di&s;like and Oppo&s;ition to the good Order and Di&s;cipline of the Church of Chri&s;t; their Memorial will not be ble&s;&s;ed of the Lord, for the hand of the Lord is again&s;t it, and the Spirit that gave it forth; for &s;uch a Memorial to be left to future Ages, will never give them cau&s;e to call them ble&s;&s;ed, that are the Authors thereof; for it's not the Glad|tidings of good things, but &s;ad Tidings to the upright in Heart, to hear that &s;uch as were once enlightened &s;hould &s;o far lo&s;e their under&s;tanding, as to &s;ay, the way of Convincement is almo&s;t &s;topt, and &s;hould be &s;o covered with Darkne&s;s, as to publi&s;h them&s;elves to the World; &s;o in oppo&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="5 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> their Brethren, as to give them cau&s;e to judge and deny them, and turn from them; what &s;hall I &s;ay? the Lord will bring di&s;tre&s;s up|on them, and upon all that joyn with them, if they re|pent not; for their un&s;avory Memorial cannot cover them from the All-&s;eeing Eye of the Lord; for he be|holds all their doings, and takes notice of it, and will plead with them, but thanks be to God a Remnant the Lord hath kept open and tender; they &s;ee that Chri&s;t the Light, Life, and who is the way of convincing; he is not &s;topt in the tender hearted, neither can their jangling &s;top the Work of the Lord, for Truth pro&s;pers in the Earth, and gets ground; and many are convinced of late up and down by the Light and Spirit of Truth: Prai&s;es to the Lord our God over all, who is adding to his Church daily, &s;uch as &s;hall be &s;aved; therefore ye Chil|dren of the Light and of the Day of God's Love, keep your Lamps trimmed, and furni&s;hed with the heavenly Oil, that you may enter in with the Bridegroom into the marriage Chamber, when the fooli&s;h are &s;hut out; then will you be filled with the heavenly Trea&s;ure, and the Well-&s;pring of Eternal Life, will &s;weetly flow into your tender Bo&s;oms; for the Lord is the Portion of your Cup, and the Lot of your Inheritance, and will be forever as your Eye is unto him; to whom I commit you, and re|commend you with true Breathings to the God of my Life, that he will pre&s;erve and keep you in a holy and harmle&s;s Life, low in his fear, that pre&s;erves you out of the Snares of Death for ever; that &s;o to the Prai&s;e of his Grace, and to the Glory of his Power who is over all, God ble&s;&s;ed forever; you may live and out-live all Con|tentions in the Sen&s;e of that Life, that was before Death and Contention was &s;o as you abide in the Light, Life and Power of God, and walk in the way of Holine&s;s; this is the way to keep all in the Unity of the true Faith, and holy Spirit of Truth which is the Bond of true Peace, and watch over one another for good, and live in love one with another; for by this &s;hall all Men know that you are my Di&s;ciples, &s;aid Chri&s;t, if you love one another, and keep down all Sperfluity, I intreat you for the Lord's &s;ake, in your Families; and train up your Chidren in the fear of the Lord, as becomes the Truth, in that which is comly and commendable; and be you &s;uch good Patterns unto them, that they following your Example of Holine&s;s, may prevent &s;uch as watch over you for evil, and rejoyces to &s;ee it, that they may &s;pread it abroad to the Di&s;|honour of Truth, and cau&s;e the uncircumci&s;ed to rejoyce; as you may &s;ee, how fal&s;e Brethren print and publi&s;h things to the Nation to defame the Truth, and tho&s;e that profe&s;s it, as in their printed memorial may be &s;een what reviling and reproachful bitter words they have vented again&s;t Friends, and are complaining of reflecti|ons from them, and are judging Friends for that which they are in the Practice of, and &s;o condemn them&s;elves, and yet pretend they &s;eek for Peace and Reconciliation, and bring forth &s;uch Fruits to maintain Contention, at the &s;ame time all in one &s;heet of Paper, &s;o their Works contradict their Pretences; but dear Friends, do you &s;tudy to be quiet, and mind the Lord's Bu&s;ine&s;s in your Men and Womens Meetings, and do your endeavours to di&s;charge your Con&s;ciences in all things towards God and Man, and take heed of giving place to any thing that would make the Offence of the Cro&s;s to cea&s;e, but &s;tand as Pillars in the Hou&s;e of God, and go no more forth, and help to bear the Burthens of the weak, and take them by the hand, and encourage young People to come to their Meetings, &s;uch as are tender and of a good Life, that they may learn, &s;o that your Off-&s;pring may &s;ucceed you in the Work and Service of the Lord, and may act for God when you are in your Graves, notwith&s;tanding they deny them that Liberty, and heed not the blind Compari&s;on of <HI>Gehazi;</HI> you that are Members of tho&s;e Meetings, run not for covetous Ends as he did, but are willing to &s;uccour and re|lieve &s;uch as are in di&s;tre&s;s, which proves their Compa|ri&s;on frivolous and vain like the re&s;t of their Works, who pretend they have been greatly concerned, and &s;triving to make up the breach, but they do not &s;trive lawfully, and &s;o are di&s;appointed of their expectation, and are like &s;o to be, till they repent and turn to the Lord, and cea&s;e from Contention and Oppo&s;ition, and be recon|ciled to their Brethren: If they do in reality de&s;ire to make up the breach, this is the way for them to come in|to Unity and Fellow&s;hip again with their Brethren, and then they may offer their Gift, and find acceptance with the Lord and his People, as in Times pa&s;t; but if they will not return but &s;till &s;tand in Oppo&s;ition, the fault is in them&s;elves, and they mu&s;t bear their own Burthen; but be not you di&s;quieted at them but pity them, and be rea|dy to do them goo if you can; but do you &s;tand fa&s;t, and keep your Habitation in the precious Truth unto the End, that God over all may have the Honour, and the Glory, and the Prai&s;e, for he alone is worthy both now and for|ever more, &s;aith your true Friend and Si&s;ter in the Fel|low&s;hip of the Go&s;pel, in which I conclude, de&s;iring you not to &s;trive with them, but keep to the peaceable Truth,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Theophila Town&s;end:</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>Cirence&s;ter, <DATE>the 12<HI>th.</HI> of the 3<HI>d.</HI> Month, 1690</DATE>.</DATELINE></CLOSER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ISAIAH LII. 7.</BIBL>
<P>How beautiful upon the Mountains are the Feet of him, that bringeth Glad-tidings of good things, and publi&s;heth Peace and Salvation, and &s;aith to <HI>Zion,</HI> thy God Reigneth.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<CLOSER><POSTSCRIPT>
<P>Let this Epi&s;tle be read among Friends in their Meetings, as they in the Wi&s;dom of God &s;hall &s;ee a Service for it.</P>
</POSTSCRIPT></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Thomas Northcott,</HI> in <HI>George-Yard,</HI> in <HI>Lombard-&s;treet,</HI> 1690.</P>
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