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keep them alive from famine. And David said, 'Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me; fight with them that fight against me; take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help, &c. and stop the way against them that persecute me; and say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.' Here David looked unto the Lord, his shield and buckler, and his help, to plead his cause against them that strove and fought against him; and so should all God's people. And David saith, 'I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy; for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.' And therefore let all God's people now know the Lord to be their defence, and refuge in the time of trouble. And David said, 'The Lord is only my rock and my salvation, he is my defence, I shall not be greatly moved;' so he is to all his people.

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David saith, Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; they grow from strength to strength, every one of them in Sion appear before God. Behold, O God, our shield, look upon the face of thine anointed; for the Lord God is a sun, and a shield, and the Lord will give grace, and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. He shall cover thee with his feathers; thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at the noon day; and under the Lord's wings thou shalt trust, his truth shall be thy shield and buckler; so no outward shield or buckler; but the Lord is my defence, and the rock of my refuge. So he is of all God's people. O ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; he is their help, &c. their shield that trust in him; for thou art my hiding-place and my shield; my hope is in thy word; depart from me, ye evil doers, for I will keep the commands of my God.' Here is the bold confidence and steadfastness of all God's people. Blessed be the Lord, my strength, my goodness, my fortress, my high tower, and my deliverer, and my shield; and he in whom I trust,' &c. Here you may see the Lord was all to David, who said, 'I know the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor,' &c.

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Therefore, as the apostle saith to the Thessalonians, let us who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breast-plate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.' This was the children of light's heavenly armour and defence, which they had from God, and Christ, and not out of smith's shops; for such will not defend them from the devil. 1 Thes. v. 8. G. F.

Concerning Cain.

AND the Lord God said unto Cain, If thou dost well, shalt thou not be accepted? if thou dost not well, sin lies at thy door, and unto thee shall be his desire,' &c.

So here you may see, it is not only saying or talking well, but acting, and doing well, if they be accepted with the Lord God; for if ye talk and say never so well, and if ye do not do well, but evil, sin lies at the door of your hearts, and gets into your hearts, (if ye do evil,) and then makes you persecutors and murderers, like Cain; and so not doing well, ye do not rule over sin, but sin gets into you, and rules over you, and the Lord God hath no respect to such, nor their offerings, nor sacrifices, nor fair speeches, nor good words, that do not well. But if ye do well, then the Lord will accept you, as you may see in Gen. iv. And Christ saith, Blessed is that faithful servant, whom the Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing;' to wit, doing the will of God. Christ said to his disciples, 'When ye shall have done all these things, which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants, we have done that which was but our duty to do.' Luke xvii. So here you may see, that which would boast of his doings is to be kept down, and kept out, for it is every servant of God's duty to do his will.

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And the Jews said unto Pilate, Crucify him, crucify him,' (to wit, Christ,) and Pilate said three times over, What evil hath he done?" Luke xxiii. But the Jews that did evil, could not accuse him of any evil that he had done; for Christ came to bruise the serpent's head, and destroy the devil and his works, and to finish transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness into the hearts of his people. And Peter said, 'Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation, he that fears God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.' So here you may see, it is not he that talketh of righteousness out of the fear of God, and worketh not righteousness, that is accepted with the righteous God, as in Acts x. 35. For Christ saith, Every one that doth evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.'

Now, here you may see, who are them that hate the light of Christ, who is the life in him, who enlightens every man that comes into the world; every one that doth evil hates the saving heavenly light of Christ, which they should believe in, and become children of the light; and they that do evil, and hate the light, neither come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. All these doers of evil, and haters of the light of Christ, and that will not come to it, lest their evil deeds should be reproved; all such, God nor Christ doth not accept their offerings

nor sacrifices. And such that hate the light of Christ, hate Christ; though they may preach him, and profess him in words, yet they persecute, and hate the believers in the light of Christ, which are the children of the light, and walk in the light, and are the children of the day of Christ.

And again, Christ saith, 'He that doth truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God.' So it is not he that only talks of truth, but, (mark,) he that doth truth, comes to the heavenly and spiritual light of Christ, that with his spiritual light he may see his deeds, that they are wrought in God. This is a blessed work, and a blessed sight to see, and a happy comfort, and a satisfaction to every one, and such God doth accept, and respect their offering. And all the children of the Lord are to be tender one to another; for Christ saith, If I then, your Lord and master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet; for I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done unto you,' as in John xiii. And this is a practice of humility, in condescending, in the tender light of Christ, one to another.

And John in his General Epistle, saith, Little children, let no man deceive you, he that doth righteousness, is righteous, even as he is righteous; whosoever doth not righteousness, is not of God,' &c. So here you may see, it is not the puft-up boasters and talkers of righteousness, but them that do it, that are of God. And was it not the reason that Cain slew his brother, because his works were evil, and Abel's were righteous? And is it not the cause now of prisoning and persecuting, both with tongue and hand, because their works are evil, and of them that did and do persecute the righteous now? But let them not be weary in welldoing; for in due season they shall reap, if they faint not; for they that do evil, sow to the flesh, and shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that is in the spirit of God, sows to the spirit, and shall of the spirit reap life eternal.' And whatsoever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free; for there is no respect of persons with God, for he doth accept all that are the servants of Christ, and do the will of God from their hearts. But he that doth wrong, receives for the wrong which he hath done; for God is no respecter of persons, for he doth render to every man according to his deeds; to them who by patience continue in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal life; but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but glory, honour, and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile; for there is no respect of persons with God. And as Christ

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saith, Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.' So by their fruits trees are known; for it is not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven.'

So here you may see that it is not the talkers of God and Christ, that enter into the kingdom of God, but every one that hears the sayings of Christ, and doth them, is likened unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock, that neither the rain, floods, nor wind, shall beat it down, because it is founded upon a rock! But every one that hears the sayings of Christ, and doth them not, is likened to a foolish man which built his house upon the sand; and the rain, and the floods, and the winds, beat upon his house, and it falls, and great is the fall of it. These are they that do not the will of God; these are the sayers, and not the doers; these are them that walk not in the light, nor grace, nor truth, nor spirit, nor gospel of Christ; these are the hearers of the word, but not doers of the word, which deceive their own selves, and are likened to a man that beholds his natural face in the glass, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was: but that man which is the doer of the work, and the word of God, is blessed in his deed; to him that knows to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin. And Christ said, the Jews, Scribes, and Pharisees, they say and do not; that is, they said Moses' and the prophet's words, but they did not Moses' and the prophet's words. And now the Christians, they have Christ's and the apostles' words, and say them often over; but the same wo will be to them that do them not, that was against the Pharisees. And Christ saith, But all their works they do for to be seen of men. But such works and doers are not accepted with God and Christ; for he cries wo against such workers. And Christ commended them that improved their talents, and said unto them, 'Well done, good and faithful servants, that had been faithful in a few things, he would make them ruler over many things;' and said Enter into the joy of the Lord.' So the wicked go into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into life eternal. And therefore the saints are to take unto them the whole armour of God, that they may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand in his armour; for every sin that a man doth, is without his body, and every one shall receive according to the things done in his body.

So here you may see, he must have truth's judgment and sentence upon the sins done out of the body, and upon the sins done in the body, by thoughts and imaginations, before they be acted outwardly. So every one shall receive a reward and judgment according to his works, whether they be good or evil; and therefore all the saints have need of patience, to exercise that gift that after they have done the will of God, they might inherit the promise of eternal life; for so is the will of

God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. So it is not only well-talking, but well-doing; for it is said that God hears not sinners; for they that go into sin and do evil, go out of God's spirit of grace and favour; but if any man be a worshipper of God in his spirit and truth, and doth his will, him he heareth in his spirit. And therefore are all God's children exhorted to walk in the faith, and by the faith, which Christ is the author of; to walk in the light of Christ, in which they have fellowship one with another; and to walk in the spirit of God, by which they are circumcised and baptized, in which they have fellowship; and to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and to walk in him. So it is not only talkers of the light, and spirit, and faith, and of the will of God and Christ, and his will and his doctrine, but they that walk in his will, and do his will, &c. that are accepted, and enter into his kingdom, that he hath prepared for them.

G. F.

Uniformity and Conformity proclaimed to the whole world, in the name of the eternal God, and his Son Christ Jesus.

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; for, 'as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.' And Christ, by the grace of God, hath tasted death for every man, and is a propitiation for the sins of the whole world, the one mediator between God and man; through death destroys death, and the devil, that had the power of death; for sin brought death, and the devil, who abode not in the truth, in whom there is no truth, he is the power of death; and Christ, who is the truth and the life, makes an end of sin, that brought death, and destroys death and the devil, and his power of death. For the son of God was manifest that he might destroy the works of the devil, and finish transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to make a reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness into man and woman.

Here is the work of the son of God, who bruises the serpent's head, breaks his power, and destroys the destroyer; he is the saviour, called the seed of the woman, in which seed (Christ) all nations are blessed, which bruises the serpent's head, who hath brought man into the curse and sin, darkness and corruption, &c. But in this seed (Christ) that bruises the serpent's head, and destroys his works, are all nations blessed, and all in uniformity, unity, and fellowship one with another, and with the son and the Father. And therefore, all must come into this

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