fear before the Lord, and to look to their ways and worships, lest they be found in any thing therein which is not of him, but contrary to him, and so bring upon their souls and bodies that wrath and sore judgment from God which. they are not able to bear? Rev. xiv. 9, 10, 11. Quest. 8. Whether it was not the great love and mercy of God to warn the churches of these things in the book of the Revelations? And whether he can be safe in these respects, who either doth not understand, or not observe, the warnings given by the Spirit of the Lord therein? How often is it therein said: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit of God saith to the churches." It is also said: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." He, then, that readeth not, that hath not an ear to hear the words of this prophecy, how can he keep what is written therein? How can he beware and avoid the seeming beauty and glory of the false church, or suffer with the faithful witnesses of God in their testimony against her? And if he do not thus, but is entangled by the false church with her golden cup of fornications, (Rev. xvii. 4.) he misseth of the blessing; and ah! what is he to meet with instead thereof! My heart hath often melted within me, and my bowels rolled at the consideration and deep sense which the Lord hath given me of these things; and this I say therein, to those that desire life and peace from God, Oh! wait on him for the eye which sees in his light, for the ear which hears his voice, and for the heart which understands the words and messages of his Spirit, that ye may feel his gathering, guidance, and preservation out of that, to which his wrath is for ever, and against which his wrath is to be made more manifest, and poured out more fully and abundantly than ever it yet was. the Lord will empty his love and his life into Zion, and empty the very dregs and thick mixtures of the cups of his indignation into the very heart and bowels of Babylon; and her sickness, misery, woe, death, and destruction will be exceeding dreadful and unutterable. Therefore wait on the For Lord in fear and singleness of spirit, crying and mourning unto him to discover to you the extent and limits of this false church, this false building, this building in a form and outward order, without the life and power of the Spirit; and then fly as fast out of her, and from her (and as far), as the Spirit of the Lord leads, even till ye come to the holy building, which is of him, and the heavenly places which are prepared there by him, for every one of his (according to their growth and stature in his Son), that ye may sit down in him. Some QUERIES to PROFESSORS, who speak of high Attainments and Experiences in Religion, and yet do not witness, nor can acknowledge, the Truth, as the Lord hath now revealed it (and done great Things by it in the Spirits of his People), but look upon it as a poor, meau and low Thing. Query 1. HAVE ye known the great and terrible day of the Lord, wherein he ariseth to shake terribly the earth? And have ye known that shaken down in you which must be shaken down and removed as a cottage, before the everlasting kingdom can be established in you? Query 2. Do ye know the living, powerful, eternal word, which is quick and piercing, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing between thought and thought, grace and grace, (as I may so speak) light and light, life and life, spirit and spirit, power and power? &c. Have ye known it a hammer, a fire, an axe laid to the root of the corrupt tree? And do ye know the corrupt tree (root, branches, leaves, and fruit) so cut down by it as to cumber the ground no more? Query 3. Do ye know the paradise of God, and the tree of life there? Do ye indeed feed thereon? Have ye passed through the flaming sword to the tree of life? And is the flaming sword (which once fenced from life, and the power thereof) set now to fence up the way to the tree of knowledge, that ye may feed no more thereon, and die, but feed only on that which is life, and gives life, and so live for ever? Query 4. Have ye witnessed the effects of the great and terrible day of the Lord in your spirits? Is antichrist destroyed, the whore burnt, flesh consumed, man ceased from, both within and without? Is the loftiness of manbowed down in you, the mighty removed out of his seat, and the meek, holy, humble seed raised up to rule in rightcousness in your hearts? Is every high tower battered down, and every fenced wall laid flat? Are all your imaginations, and conceivings, and fleshy apprehendings upon scriptures, yea, every pleasant picture and image of the things in heaven (formed in your minds) brought to an end, and the pure living truth of the Father waited for, received from him, and lived in? Yea, is the Lord alone exalted in your spirits, and all other dominion, authority, rule, and lordship put under? Query 5. Do ye know the mountain of the Lord's house, and the Lord's house built and established by his own Holy Spirit and power upon his own holy mountain? And do ye worship the Lord alone therein? Do ye come up to the New Jerusalem, to offer your sacrifices there, according to the institution of the gospel? And do ye worship the Lord there, on his own day, which he hath spiritually made? And do ye bear no burden, kindle no fire, do no work on that his day? Do ye never warm yourselves at any fire, or by any sparks of your own kindling? Or are ye yet worshipping upon some of the many mountains and hills which the Lord hath not formed nor established; but have been formed and set up by man in the night of darkness, before the everlasting light of the day break forth? Query 6. Do ye know the wilderness through which the passage is from Egypt to Canaan? And have ye faithfully travelled in the leadings of God's Spirit there through? And are ye entered into the pure rest thereof? Are ye not under the law, but under grace; not under the enemy's power, but under the Spirit's power, out of the other's reach, so that the wicked one cannot touch you? Have ye gone through the exercises and trials of the wilderness? Have ye fed on the manna dropt down from heaven upon your spirits therein? Have ye drunk of the water of the rock? Have ye seen the serpent lifted up, and felt the healing thereby? Have ye witnessed the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, to be your defence and leader? And have ye now at length received the kingdom of life, and set under the shadow of it, drinking water out of your own cistern, and eating under your own vine and fig-tree the fruits of the good land, after the shaking of that which was to be shaken; now being come to, and enjoying the kingdom which cannot be shaken? Have ye really felt these things, or have ye been in the dreams and imaginings about them? Query 7. Do ye walk in the light of the Lord, as the spiritual house of Jacob is to do? Have ye received the Spirit? Do ye live in the Spirit? Are ye truly united, so as to become one Spirit with the Lord? Are all the walls of partition broken down? And is there nothing now between you, but of two ye are made one in that which uniteth? If it be thus with you, then hold forth the right hand of fellowship to those whom the Lord hath brought hither; and know and acknowledge that whereby the Lord hath wrought in them. But if ye be not really in the thing itself, but only in the apprehensions and conceivings about it, ye can never so be witnesses concerning these things, nor concerning the truth whereby God works these things: and ye will find there is a great gulf between you and us, which ye cannot possibly pass over, till ye meet with our principle and guide, and faithfully travel with him in the footsteps of the flock, that ye may come to the Shepherd's tents (even the tents which the Shepherd pitcheth, and which no man can pitch), and may know the true tabernacle, sanctuary, and temple, whereof he is the Minister. OF THE CHURCH, IN ITS FIRST AND PURE STATE, IN ITS DECLINING STATE, IN ITS DECLINED STATE, AND IN ITS RECOVERY. WITH THE WAY OF SALVATION IN THE COVENANT OF LIFE OPENED, AND SOME STUMBLING-BLOCKS REMOVED OUT OF THE WAY OF THE SIMPLE-HEARTED. LIKEWISE SOME QUERIES CONCERNING THE NEW COVENANT. ALL PEOPLE; BUT MORE ESPECIALLY TO SUCH AS Whereunto is added A Visit of tender and upright Love to such as retain any Sincerity towards the Lord. Also a brief Account of the ground of Certainty and Satisfaction, which it hath pleased the Lord to establish in my heart, concerning Religion, and the things of his Kingdom. And a Question answered about the way of knowing the Motions, Doctrines, and Teachings of Christ's Spirit. With somewhat relating to the Gospel Rest, or Sabbath. And some Queries to such as complain of want of Power to become the Lord's, and serve Him. By one who testifieth what he hath seen and heard and tasted ISAAC PENINGTON. |