Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1835-09-10
THE EpISTIE.

ndjournmeots, from the 20th of the fifth month,
TO the 30lh Of the same, inclusive, 1885.
To the Quarterly and Monihiy Meetings
of Friends in Great Britain, Ireland, and
eiseUhere.
DEAR FRIENDs,--We consider it to be
cause for humble thankfulness that VIC have
been again permitted 10 assemble as u relig-
ious body, and To conduct the concerns Of
the Society in brothcrly love.--In the flow
ing of this love we again address you, and
tenderly salute you all in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ
Epistles have been received, as in former
years, from our friends in ireland and North
America, which have been very acceptable
to this meeting: and we have felt satisfaction
in maintaining a friendly intercourse with
our beloved distant brethren.
The sense which we have now been per-
mitted TO enjoy of the overshadowng wing
of Divine goodness, has afforded renewed
evidence that we are, as church, built on
that foundation than which no other can be
laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Our forefnthcrs in the truth were, as we
believe, remarkably visited with the day
spring from on high; and under the fresh and
powerful influences Of the Holy Ghost, were
enabled to proclaim among men, tho purity
and spirituality Of the gospel of our Redeem
cr..
They profess TO be instructed in no new.
truths; they had nothing to add to the faith
once delivered 10 the saints; they cordially
acknowledged the divine Authority Of the
Holy Scriptures; they were deeply versed in
the contents of the sacred volume; and they
openly confessed that whatsoever doctrine
ar practice is contrary to its declarations
must be "accounted and rcckoned delusOn
of the devil" But it was evidently their
especial duty, in the Christian church, 10 call
away their IL low men from dependence on
outward forms, to invite their attention to the
witness for God in their own boSoms, and to
set forth the immediate and perceptive opera
tions Of the Holy Spirit.
1t was given them to testify that this Di-
vine influence was To be experienced not only
in connection with the outward means Of re-
ligious instruction, but in the striving Of the
spirit with dark unregenerate world; and in
those gracious visitations to the mind ofman,
which are independent of every external cir
cumstance.
Notlng could be more clear than the tcs-
tiinony which they bore to the eternal divlnl-
ty of the Son of God, to his coming in the
flesh, and to his propitiatory Offering, on the
cross, for the sins of the world; and they re.
joiced in the benefits Of the Christian revela-
tion, by which these precious truths are
known to mankind. They went forth to
preach the gospel, under firm conviction
that in consequence Of this one sacrifice for
sin, all men are placed in a capacity Of saliva
tion.-And they called on their hearers to
mind the light of the Spirit Of Christ, that
they might be thereby convinced Of their
transgressions, and led to n living faith in
that precious blood through which alone we
can receive the forgiveness ofonr sins, and be
made partakers Of the blessed hope OF life
everlasting.
We wish to assure our dear friends, every
where, that we still retain the same nnatera-
BILE principles, and desire TO be enabled, un-
der every variety of circumstances, steadily
to uphold them.
While we are anxious that all our members
should exercise daily diligence in the peru
sal of the sacred volume, we would earnestly
invite them to wait and pray for that divine
immediate teaching, which can alone effect
ually illuminate its pages, and unfold its con-
tents to the eye ofthe soul. 'For what man
knoweth the things Of man, save
the spirit Of man which is in him? even so the
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit
Of Cod As this il our humble endeavour
the various features Of divine truth will be
gradually unfolded to- the seeking mind,
We besecch you, dear Friends, carefully
to avoid all partial and exclusive views of re-
ligon, for these have ever been found TO be
the nurse Of error. The truth as it is in Je-
sus forms a perfect whole; its parts are not to
be contrasted, much less opposed to each
other. They all consist in beautiful hGrmo-
ny; they must he gratefully accepted in their
true completeness, and applied with all dill
gence to their practical purpose. That pur-
ell
and the salvation Of our ncver-ayng souls.
How precious is it to remember that in the
prosecution ofthis great object, the humble
Christian is strengthened, by the indwelling
Of the Holy Ghost, for hia race of righteous
ness, and is furnished with an infalIible in
ward guide TO true holiness. The pride of
his heart is broken down by a power beyond
his own; his dispositions are rectilied; and
now he can listen to that still small voice Of
israePs Sheperd, in the soul, which guides to
the practice of every virtue. We bescech
you, dear Friends, not to rest satisfied with
mere notion Of this blessed doctrine, but to
apply il, with all watchfuness and diligence
to your daily life and conversation. Thus a.
lone can we escape from the spirit of the
world, with all its covetousness and vanity,
maintain the true simplicity and integrity Of
the Christian character, and finally perfect
"holiness, in the fear OF God"
The dstraints made on our members, dur
ing the last year, for tithes and other ecclesi-
astical demands, amount to upwards oftwelve
thousand eight hundred pounds; and one
Friend is now suffering Imprisonment in the
jail at Carlow, in Ireland in consequence Of
bis conscientious refusal to pay tithcs.
In communicating this Information, we wish
to remind you, that one important result of
the immediate influence Of the Spirit, is the
distribution of gifts in the church for the eii-