FIRST LETTER. BOGNOR, SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 1841. MY DEARLY BELOVED BROTHER.-It was so long for me not to have heard from you that for some days I had felt uneasy, when your letter, received yesterday, comforted me by tidings from yourself. I cannot say that your letter comforted me in all respects, for you seem to stand in need of comfort both as to temporal and spiritual things. Now as to the former it is not so much in my power to comfort you as you me; but as to the latter it is the desire of my mind and my prayer to God that I may be enabled to comfort you as our Father comforts me. For whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now as our good Father gives me good understanding of the Scriptures so he comforts me by his holy word. By your letter just received it is manifest that my last letter did not comfort you; and because I cannot speak to your comfort on that deep matter of Revelation xx. I would rather, at the present time, speak concerning it no more; fearing, that through my ignorance or inability to make the same manifest to your understanding, I might rather darken than enlighten your thoughts. Under this view of the matter, let my silence, beyond what I have now said, be received as the most judicious and affectionate reply I can make to your own letter on the same subject. But there is a matter of far more importance to our peace upon which I earnestly desire to speak unto you according to the ability which God hath given unto me, and may, still further, give unto me concerning this great Scripture-The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will shew them his Covenant. Psl. xxv. 14. Now the good Spirit hath made manifest unto me that the Secret of the Lord is the Covenant of our God unto Abraham and to his seed which is Anointed. And this is the sure Covenant of his mercy and of his love which he purposed in himself. God gave to Abraham and to his seed the inheritance of Eternal Life by promise, according to the hearing of our faith, on July 12, 1812. Moreover this precious promise is called the Gospel or the Glad Tidings, or the Mystery which from the beginning of the world (July 12, 1812) hath been hid in God, (as a secret thing) but now is made manifest as a revealed thing from the time appointed of the Father, and that is by the hearing of our faith, from March 14, 1839. Now the precious promise of the Spirit as a secret thing and as a revealed thing is the selfsame promise, as it is written,-In hope of Eternal Life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested his word (of promise) through preaching the Gospel or Glad Tidings of his promise. Titus i. 1, 2, 3. Now in lowliness of mind before the holy God, we do desire mercy of our Father that we may not err in our understanding concerning the great and precious promise of Eternal Life—as it may be known unto us by the hearing of our faith in the revealed will of the Spirit: and also, as it cannot be known unto us, until the great fulfilment, by the power of the Spirit in his creature. This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. John xvii. 3. He is sent to preach the Glad Tidings of the promise of Eternal Life, and to confirm unto the children of Abraham (Gal. iii. 7, 8, 9, 14,) the promises made unto the fathers. Ish. lxi. 1, Rom. xv. 8. Therefore it is written,-He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life, John v. 24. By these words we are caused to perceive that the promise of Eternal Life is sent |