Friends,—Live in the wisdom of the Lord, for that is it which doth preserve you pure, lively, and gentle, above that which is below. And in the increase of God [Col 2:19] live, and in his virtue, power, and love, that through it your hearts may be established and filled with the same; <139> that justice and truth may in all things be amongst you, and Christ Jesus known in the midst of you as a prophet, priest, and king, (who hath gathered you in his name,) [Mat 18:20] to open and reveal to you, and rule you, who is the quickening spirit [1 Cor 15:45] in whom the spiritual sacrifices are offered [1 Pet 2:5]. Therefore I say, know Christ, who is the substance [Col 2:17] of all the types, figures, and shadows, by whom the world was made [John 1:3], who destroys the enmity [Eph 2:15f] among people, and the devil the author of it; and in him is both life and peace. The heave offering [14" class="scriptRef">Lev 7:14] was a figure of Christ the one offering [Heb 10:10]; the priests, and the law, and the first covenant, were figures of the everlasting covenant [Heb 13:20], Christ Jesus. Oaths which ended strife [Heb 6:16] in the time of the law and before, were figures of Christ, the oath of God, who sware by himself [Heb 6:13]; which oath Christ Jesus endeth, and destroys the devil [Heb 2:14] the author of strife, and brings people to yea and nay [Mat 5:37], who judges the false oath and ends the true. For there were no oaths commanded before the fall; so there are none to be in the restoration and redemption by Christ. They see this doctrine that are renewed again (in measure) into God's image, [Col 3:10] and are come into obedience to Christ's doctrine and the apostle's, as in the primitive times; and see the ground of swearing among the Jews, and see the ground of swearing got up since the apostles' days, among the apostates from the primitive practice in the church in the apostles' days. And they see that oaths were not given to man before the fall, and see they are not to be in the restoration; nor were in the primitive times, nor in the beginning according to the doctrine of Christ, who is the first and the last [Rev 1:8, etc], who is to be minded, and his doctrine, who is the top and corner stone. And now is the bride his wife, coming up out of the wilderness, where she hath been driven, and been fed of God [Rev 12:6,14] in this time of the beast's, dragon's, false church's, and whore's worship, which hath gotten up since the apostles' days. Therefore all walk in the light of the lamb [Rev 21:23f], that by his blood ye may be washed [Rev 7:14]; that through it and the testimony of the Lord Jesus ye may overcome. And meet in the power of God, and in that keep your meetings; that ye and every one of you may inherit the power of God, and so come into your own inheritances. So live in love, peace, and unity, one with another; for the body doth edify itself in love [Eph 4:16]. And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, amen! to teach you, and to season and to establish your hearts [1 Th 3:13], and to bring you salvation; and in that live which was before enmity was. G. F.