A Beam of Divine Glory, Letter
Mr. Pearſe's laſt Letter.
To my dearly beloved Friends, that ſmall Company, to whom, by the providence of God, I have ſome years laſt paſt preached the Everlaſting Gospel.
Dearly and longed for in our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt; Grace, Mercy, and Peace unto you from God our Father, through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, by the Eternal Spirit.
IT is now many years ſince, by the providence of God, we have been called to worſhip his great and Reverend Name together; during which time God hath …een exceeding good to us, manifeſting his Power in our weakneſs, and his Love in our unworthineſs: He hath declared his Name to be recorded amongst us, by his coming to us, and bleſſing of us: Some of you have been Convinced, ſome Converted, ſome Edified, and all (I hope) quickened and encouraged Heavenwards: And not only your ſelves, but, through the Grace of God, many others have been born to Chriſt amongst us, and more built up in the holy Faith. O the many, warm, ſweet and refreſhing Sabbaths we have enjoyed together! And what ſhall we ſay to theſe things, or what ſhall we do? O, let us bow down at the foot of God, and adore his infinitely, infinitely, infinitely free, rich, and powerful Grace, aſcribing all the glory to that alone, to which (I am ſure) all is due. God hath now called me aſide from you, and not only from you, but he ſeems to be calling me out of his Vineyard, yea, out of this World: I have long had a weak and infirm Body, but now God, in his wiſe and holy Providence, hath ſeen good to reduce me to a far lower and weaker ſtate of Body, my Health being now vtterly broken: Yet I must ſay, God is exceeding good to me, and deals in fatherly tenderneſs with me; I have neither much ſickneſs, nor much pain, only my Diſeaſe, according to its name, gradually conſumes me, nor am I without ſome lucid intervals: God both lifts me up, and casts me down, (as he dealt with the Church of old;) Sometimes I am under ſome revivings, which ſeem to give hopes of a return from the Grave; Anon nothing but Death ſeems to be in view; And in this dubious ſtate I am waiting upon the Will of God, which (I am ſure) is Holy, Wiſe, and Good, and which (I hope) ſhall be welcome to me, whether it be for Life or Death: Hitherto, through Grace, Death hath not been terrible to me; what it may be, in its neareſt approaches, I cannot tell; but I look to, and reſt upon him, who hath deſtroyed both Death, and him that had the power of Death.
And now only two things I beg of you: One is, That you all give me a room in your Prayers, while I am in the Land of the Living; and I deſire you would beg of God theſe things for me.
Firſt, That all ſin and guilt cleaving to me may be fully expiated and diſcharged through the Blood of Chriſt. O beg both forgiveneſs and repentence for me, which (God knows) I greatly need.
Secondly That my Will may be throughly reſigned up into the Will of God, either for Life or Death.
Thirdly, That I may have much of God's Preſence with me, and may alwaies have good Thoughts of Him and his Diſpenſations towards me, in all He doth, or ſhall lay upon me.
Fourthly That if God ſhall pleaſe to reſtore me, I may come out of this Furnace puriſied and refined, as Gold that is tryed ſeven times, and more fitted for my Maſters Service: or if his pleaſure is, (which ſeems at preſent most probable) to put a period to my mortal life, that his Love, and the Light of his Countenance may ſhine upon me, to ſweeten the bitter pangs of Death to me: we cannot live comfortably without his Love, much leſs can we die comfortably without it. That is my first request: The other is, That you will accept and embrace ſome plain, but weighty counſels. God is my Record, that my hearts-deſire and Prayers for you is and has been, that you may be ſaved, and in love to your ſalvation I leave theſe Directions with you.
1. Above all things look well to, and labour to make ſure of an Union with Christ, knowing aſſuredly that without Union with him, all your Religion is vain and ineffectual.
2. Take heed of too much addictedneſs to his World, as remembring, that if any Man love the World, the Love of the Father is not in him; and that the friendſhip of this World is enmity to God.
3. Dwell much within, and be much converſant in Heart-work, in ſtudying the Heart, ſearching the Heart, cleanſing the Heart, keeping the Heart, looking alwaies upon it as the veriest Cheat and Impoſtor in the World, deceitful above all things, and deſperately wicked.
4. Take heed of ſplitting upon that fatal Roek of ſelf-deceit, of which you have ſometimes heard, and upon which the greateſt part of Profeſſors ſplit and periſh for ever.
5. Set up and keep up the Worſhip of God both in your Families and Cloſets: for the Lord's ſake let none of yours be Prayerleſs Families.
6, Alwaies maintain a great honour and reverence for all God's Ordinances, and in an eſpecial manner honour and ſanctifie his Sabbath: The Sabbath-day is your Souls Market day: O loſe not your Market.
7. Be univerſally honest and upright in your Callings, and your Dealings in them; the fraudulent dealings of Profeſſors do much reproach the Goſpel.
8. Covet to ſeat your ſelves under a ſound, clear, ſearching Goſpel miniſtry, and keep mainly to the ſame Miniſtry; and the Lord guide you therein.
9. Labour that your profiting under the Miniſtry may appear unto all men: it will be a dreadful thing to enjoy rich means, and bring forth no fruit to perfection: O Sirs be fruitful Chriſtians.
10. Expect further Trials and Sufferings, and prepare for them: there is a dark and gloomy Day coming, ſuch as (I am apt to think) you and I have never ſeen any like unto it, and ſuch as wherein (poſſibly) you will think it best with them that God ſhall have hid in the Grave before hand: But be not troubled, it will be ſhort; and a glorious Day will follow, a Day wherein the Church of God ſhall ſing the ſong of Moſes and of the Lamb, a Day wherein our dear Lord and Head ſhall reign gloriouſly: And therefore.
11. Pray and long, long and pray much and earneſtly for the coming of the Day of God, for the coming of Chriſt's Kingdom: Thy Kingdom come, is a Petition ſhould be much upon our hearts. O do not Rest in low things as to divine appearances and manifeſtations both in the World and in your own Souls. Theſe Counſels I leave with you out of that entire love and affection I bear to your ſalvation, and our Lord's honour as concerned in you. I will conclude all with …hat ſolemn and cordial profeſſion to you, which Auguſtine often made to thoſe, to whom he was wont to preach: viz. that it is the deſire of my Soul, that as we have been often crowded together to worſhip God in one Earthly Houſe or Temple, ſo we may all worſhip him together for ever in the Heavenly Houſe or Temple; And if we must never Pray, and Preach, and Hear, and Mourn together more on Earth, yet we may Love, and Sing, and Praiſe, and Admire, and Rejoyce together for ever in Heaven: Which that we may do, the God of Peace, (who brought again from the dead our Lord Jeſus Christ, that great Shephed of the Sheep, through the Blood of the Everlaſting Covenant) make us perfect in every good Work to do his Will, working in you and me that which is well-pleaſing in his ſight through Jeſus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen and Amen.
My dear, dear, dear Friends I am your weak and languiſhing, but yet Cordial Friend, and willing Servant, in Christ, and for Christ, EDWARD PEARSE. Hampſtead, Octob. 3. 1672.
A Beam of Divine Glory: OR, The Unchangeableneſs of God, Aſſerted, Opened, Vindicated, and Improved, from
Mal. 3. 6.
I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye Sons of Jacob are not conſumed.