Worthy and dear Mistress, - My dearest love in Christ remembered. As to the business which I know you would want to have happened, my sincere wish is that you stand still. Do not hurry, and you will see the salvation of God. The great Master Gardener, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in wonderful providence, with His own hand (I dare swear it for your strengthening) planted me here in this part of His vineyard, where by grace I grow, - though Satan and the world (or one of his servants he sends to do his will) say otherwise. And here I will stay until the great Master of the Vineyard thinks to transplant me. When He sees it right to loosen my root, and to plant me where I may be more useful, both with fruit and shadow, and when He who planted pulls up so that He may transplant, who dare reach out and hinder Him. If they do, God will break their arm at the shoulder, and do His will. When the Lord goes west, the devil and the world go east; and do you not know it has always been this way between God and the world - God pulling and they holding back, God 'yes' and the world 'no'. But they fall on their backs frustrated, and the Lord keeps His grip.
Why does the word say, that our Christ, the Goodman of this house, His dear church, has feet like fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace (Rev 1:15)? For no other reason that wherever our Lord sets his brazen feet, He will go forward; and wherever He looks, He will follow His look, and his feet burn all under them, as fire does to stubble and thorns. I think, he has now given the world a proof of his very great power, when He is doing such great things, where the church is concerned, by the sword of the Swedish king, as of a Gideon. (Gustavus Adolphus victorious in the Thirty Years War in Germany) Since you love the glory of the Lord, pray now, (es, get all your praying friends to promise to do the same) for this king, and everyone that the church's King arms, to execute the vengeance written against Babylon (Rome). Our Lord has begun to loosen some of Babylon's corner stones. Pray to Him to keep on, for that city must fall, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the field must make a feast of Babylon; for he has invited them to eat the flesh of that prostitute, and to drink her blood. And the cup in the Lord's right hand will be tipped over her, shamefully spilling on her glory. He whose word must stand has said, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more,' (Jer 25:27) Our Jesus is setting Himself up as His Father's flag (Is 11:10), as God's fair white flag, so His soldiers may all rally round Him. Long, long may this flag stand. It is a long time since he displayed a flag against Babylon in the fight of men and angels. Let us rejoice and be victorious in our God. The victory is certain; for when Christ and Babel fight, then angels and saints may prepare themselves to sing, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! ' Though that well known Prince, precious Jesus, now weeps and bleeds in His members, yet Christ will laugh again; and it is time for us to laugh when our Lord Christ laughs, - and that will be soon. For when we hear of wars and rumours of wars, the Judge's feet are by the door, and he must be in heaven ordering the angels to make themselves ready and prepare their hooks and sickles for that great harvest. Christ will come to us quickly; watch a little time, and before long the skies will part, and that fair, lovely person, Jesus, will come in the clouds, heavily loaded with glory. Then all these rogues and foxes that have destroyed the vines, will call to the hills and cry to the mountains, to cover them, and hide them from the sight of Him who sits on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb.
Remember me to your husband, and ask him from me to help Christ, and to take His side, and to always sit beside Him in judgement, and to patiently receive a blow for His sake; for he is worth suffering for, not only blows, but also bloodshed. He will find that innocence and uprightness in judgement will hold his feet and make him happy, when avoidance will not do it. I say this because someone said to me, 'I pray to God that the country not be worse now when the judge and legal officers are in agreement, than before', - the whom I replied, ' I trust the judge looks at a man's character and not his faults'. I pray for you, with my whole soul and desire, that your children follow the truth, and that the Lord may shine on them, and make their faces shine, when others blush. I dare promise them, in His name, whose truth I preach, if they only try to serve God, they will find Him the sweetest Master they ever served. Ask them from me, to try for a while the service of this blessed master, and then, if His service is not sweet if it does not give pleasure to the soul, change Him and try something better. Christ is an unknown Christ to the young ones; and they do not seek Him because they do not know Him.Tell them to come and see and seek a kiss from His mouth, and then they will find His mouth is so sweet, that they will be forever bound to Him by their own consent. If I have any standing with your children, I beg them in Christ's name to try what is the truth and reality in what I say, and not to leave His service unless they find I lie. I give you, your husband and them, to His keeping, on whom I place myself and my soul, even to our dear Friend Jesus Christ, in whom I am,
Yours, S.R.
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