Stephen Crisp Epistle

AN
EPISTLE
FROM
Stephen Crisp
TO
FRIENDS
AGAINST
Such as cry out against the Form of Godliness, as against Meeting at Set Times, on First Days, &c.

Oh my Dear Friends,

My soul with Love unfeigned salutes you, even in that very Love which the Father hath bestowed on me, of which Love and Goodness he hath also made you Sharers and Partakers, through Jesus Christ our Light and Counsellor, whose Paths have become Paths of Peace, and his Right Hand hath been a Support and Refuge unto you, in the Days of your Weakness and Infancy; so that when the Enemy within, or Enemies without sought to destroy your Hope which you had in God, lo, you felt his Power near to sustain you: So you became Valiant for the Name of your God, and his Eternal Love, that sprang up in your Hearts, constrained you to suffer much, rather than his Name should in the least suffer: And by the operation of his Power, ye became so United and Joyned together, that your Hearts stood one for another; and if any thing happened through Weakness and Childishness, ye could feel in that Day how God for Christs sake had forgiven you, and could in the same forgive one another: And this was that, dear Children, that gave you an Understanding and a Discerning of the false Power, and airy Spirits, in how great a glory soever it appeared, as you dwelt in the blessed Power which kept you low and broken in your selves, ye could see both your selves and others. And in those Days was the Hearts of the Righteous made glad among you, and ye were enriched with Heavenly Benefits, and your Assemblies were a delight unto you, because therein your Souls were satisfied with the appearance of his Likeness. And Oh my Friends, that this Glory might ever rest upon you, and that you might say the Government and the Peace of our Lord Jesus is still increasing amongst us, and that as the Lord hath called and chosen you, to be his Witnesses of the Arising, you might none of you fall short of this Testimony; to wit, to know him raised up in you all who bruiseth down Satan the Scatterer and Defiler, and destroys his whole Work, though never so Crafty. Oh that Seed which never fell, which cannot be beguiled; Oh, wait to feel it in your selves, for this is Meek and Lowly, Long-sufffering and full of Patience; this is that which puts to silence the Birth of the Flesh, yea, though it would plead to advance the Spirit; for Wisdom is justified of her own Children. Oh, my Friends, my Heart is full towards you of the Love of my Father, yet am I pained and in Heaviness concerning you, lest that old Enemy of Israel’s Peace, should beguile any of you, and lead you from the simplicity of the Gospel, to follow Seducing Spirits. XR2090 And therefore my dearly Beloved in the Lord Jesus, I charge you all to wait in the same Eternal Light of Jesus which at the beginning was a sure Guide unto you, and led you in the form of Sound and Uncondemnable Speech, and into an In-offensive Life towards all People, and made you watch how to ease the Burthens of the Oppressed, and so through Believing ye were preserved. Therefore by Doubting, let not any be shaken nor removed, though the Enemy in these Days hath prepared the Seeds, Men Of Doubts and Questionings, as well as ye have known them that have sown the Word of Faith and Soundness, yet know them asunder, whenever they appear; for the Ministers of Righteousness have from the beginning sown but one manner of Doctrine, and in that you have received us, and we have sought to establish you, both in the Power and Form of Truth: Now, whosoever strikes at either, is a Seducer, and if any lets in his Doctrine, it will cause Divisions among you; and when you are divided, then the Carnality will arise, to feed and maintain the Division; and so your Love to God will wax colder, and Iniquity will inavoidably abound, which separates from God, and scatters from the true Church, and brings the Soul into desolation: And that which draws forth the Mind about Days, and Places, and outward things, leads into Animosities and Heats; whereupon false Fire come sometimes to be offered up. Oh my Friends, my Heart is broken in remembrance of you, and what the Lord hath done for you, and how he made you a dread to the Heathen, when ye retained the Love and Simplicity that ye learned in Christ. Oh! How Meek, how Tender, how Subject was your Souls unto the Truth, and one to another in it? Oh! Let it neither be lost nor forgotten, but fulfil my Joy in the Lord on your behalf, and with one consent judge out that which is wicked and abominable, and let none spare that which appertaineth to the uncircumcised: But let it be done in Fear and Trembling, that the Fleshly in all may feel the Stroak. But dear lambs, let your Concord never be broken, nor your Agreement (in things appertaining unto Godliness) any ways be removed from you; for if it be, then is your Beauty marred, and your crown defaced: XR3100 But meet together on the First Days, and on the others Days, as formerly you have been led, and the former blessing and Presence of God will be felt among you; which some not feeling, have gone in Questionings and {Page 253} Reasonings, to their own Harm. Dear Friends, the Lord knows the Integrity of my Soul, and true Love to you; and that for his glorious Truth’s sake, and for your sakes, I write these things to you. Oh, receive my Advice; hearken and hear, and let all self-willedness be Bourne down by the meek Lamb’s Power, for it’s that which gives Life, and restores, and heals, and makes up Breaches. Therefore make to an hearty Atonement in the Seed Christ, the Head of every true and living Member, and let none have cause to glory in your Flesh, or in your Weakness, but make glad Hearts who seeks no Glory, but the Glory of God: His Witness is in your Hearts, bearing us Record that we have laboured among you, to bring you into the Unity of the Faith, and into the Knowledge and practice of such things as tend to your Edifying. XR2772 Therefore lend not your Ears, (I beseech you) unto that in any, or in your selves, that would (under pretence of Formality in Times and Places) draw you aside, from the good and blessed Testimony of Assembling your selves together, to wait upon your God; and what there is in any of you that would not condescend unto each other as Brethren, is not of the nature of the true Birth, but must by it be subdued: And as that ariseth and prevails in and among you, so will you again feel the Lord Ministring to his own in you, and your Eyes will be open to see the Wiles of our subtle Adversary more clearly; who though he may appear masked, with a shew of more Holiness, with a Promise of further Glory, higher Dispensations, new Discoveries, yea, and with a Pretence of leading out of Formality into the Power; and many such Baits and Snares. Yet my Dearly Beloved, beware of such Pretence, for he comes but to bring you dis-esteem of what you have received, and to draw forth the Expectation after something else; that so you might be robbed and spoiled of your Portion: And then when you come to a want in your selves, having lost the former, missing the latter, you will be tempted to end in the Earth; and the latter end of such, is worst of all.

So my Dear Friends, in the largeness of my Love, have I written this large Epistle to you in which if you receive my Advice to your Benefit, I have my End. And though Heaviness hath been upon me, yet my rejoicing in you will return unto me again, and my Spirit shall praise the Lord with yours. The Lord God of Power preserve you, and keep you stedfast to the end, in the Doctrine of his Son, and in Obedience of his Truth, unto the fulfilling of your Testimony, and to the obtaining the Crown Immortal, which never fades away; in the Earnest of which, and in the blessed Fellowship of his Power, in which my Soul desire you may be kept, I bid you farewel; and acquainted with the Burthens of them that cause Trouble, whom God will repay.

Stephen Crisp

[Source: A Memorable Account of the Christian Experiences, Gospel Labour, Travels and Sufferings of the Ancient Servant of Christ Stephen Crisp, in His Books and Writings herein Collected. London 1694.]