In the power of God that is everlasting, and doth remain in this your day of trial, in it stand, of which ye are partakers, and are come to be heirs of the same; and in it is your peace and kingdom. And though ye have not a foot of ground to stand upon, yet ye have the power of God to skip and to leap in; standing in that, which is your life, that is everlasting. Who by the power of God are gathered up to the beginning, to the endless life [Heb 7:16], who have your meetings in it, that neither death nor the power of it can separate you from [Rom 8:38f], nor out of the power of God, for it was before death or the power of it was; in that are <202> your living meetings, and joinings, and building up the spiritual household of living stones [1 Pet 2:5], gathered by and through the power of God. In which power of God is the household of faith [Gal 6:10], which faith gives them the victory [1 Jn 5:4]; in which power of God ye being, are gathered over Jews, Gentiles, and the apostate christians' meetings and gatherings, who are in enmity and confusion, and out of the power of God; that put the wheat for the tares [Mat 13:25-30], and so persecute the elect, which election was before the world began [Tit 1:1f], of which ye are made partakers. Stand fast therefore in your confidence, in that which is without end, in that in which the endless life is seen, in the power of God, and light; which rules over powers, thrones, principalities, and dominions [Col 1:16]. The power of God goes over them, and ye living in it, nothing can separate you from the love of God, which ye have in Christ [Rom 8:38f] the seed, which was before the world began, glorified with the Father, who hath all kings and kingdoms in his hand, which is his power; in that let your faith stand. With which immortal power ye may all be clothed, which covers you and preserves you over the mortal. And prisons, fetters, dungeons, and sufferings, the royal seed, and heirs of the promise [Gal 3:29], what are they to you, who are married to the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world [Rev 13:8]; against whom they warred [Rev 17:14] and banded themselves, and took counsel together against the Lord, and his anointed, who breaks their bonds asunder [Psa 2:2f]; whom neither death, grave, nor all the powers of the world were able to hold nor contain, but over all he rose, (the seed,) and reigns, till he hath made all his enemies his footstool [Psa 110:1, Heb 10:13]. Honour and praise be to the Lord, the living God, that lives for ever! So all ye who are gathered in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose name is called, the power of God [1 Cor 1:4], the word, which was in the beginning [John 1:1], over the powers of darkness, before it was, and compelling worships, ministry, maintenance, and churches were; this gathering, this meeting in the name, the power, the unrighteous world cannot separate you from; for it is over it, and was before it was. In that power have ye the kingdom and dominion, in the power, reigning over all that which hath been out of the power. And ye that partake of the power, have power with God, in that we need not bid you keep your meetings; for ye art met and gathered into the fold of Christ Jesus [John 10:16], and are put forth by him, and are brought from under that, that leads from God, by the power of God. In this gathering by the power into the name of Christ, (which is the power,) with the power he is felt in the midst [Mat 18:20], who is King of kings, and Lord of lords [Rev 19:16], and prince of life and peace [Acts 3:15, Isa 9:6], and prophet to open by his power and light in you all, and a priest for ever [Heb 6:20], that lives to offer up the spiritual sacrifice and praise to God; and he being felt among you, and in you all, ye will have every one of you, in your own particular, joy, peace, comfort, <203> consolation, assurance, confidence, and satisfaction, when all gatherings, meetings, heaven, and earth, types, and figures, and shadows, and prophets, and the prophecies are ended. And swearing before the law and in the law, and all invented oaths since the law, and amongst the heathen, when these are gone, past away and fulfilled, the election, and the seed, and the gathering in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord of life remain and stand, and his throne and dominion; in which there is no curse, but a blessing. So, happy are ye who are partakers of this, heirs of this blessing [1 Pet 3:9], and heirs of the promise [Gal 3:29], and of the life, and of the world that hath no end: who have your confidence and assurance in him! So all ye that have felt the light, and have been turned to it, in that light ye feel the covenant with God, who is light [Isa 42:6]; which brings to be acquainted with the life of God, and gives the knowledge of Christ your saviour and redeemer, which is the salvation to the ends of the earth [Isa 49:6]. By which light and covenant ye are turned from darkness, and the power of satan [Acts 26:18], that separated you from God, who was the enemy, through whom ye had not peace with God. But now being turned from him, into the light and power, in this covenant of light and power ye have peace with God [Rom 5:1], (that destroys the enmity,) and are come to receive it; and so heirs of the kingdom, that is everlasting. Be at peace one with another, and in love and tenderness, and in the wisdom of God order and preserve, and nourish and cherish all things to his glory; in which ye will feel his blessing, and treasure, and riches, and fulness in you, with you, and amongst you. So, put on the armour of light [Rom 13:12], that with it ye may be able to defend, and see, and walk, and stand against all the arrows and darts that are in the unrighteous world, and before they were, as children of the light, and children of the day [1 Th 5:5], where the darkness is past. Put on your breast-plate of righteousness [Eph 6:14], to save and preserve your hearts and minds, and to keep you from all that which would defile and surfeit it, or cause you to be weary, or think the war or time long. For the power is everlasting, and the righteousness is everlasting, that destroys the works of the devil [1 Jn 3:8], and him both, whereby the seed of God comes to be set on the head of it all; glory and praise be to him for ever! Put on therefore the shield of faith [Eph 6:16], by which faith (your shield) ye have the victory [1 Jn 5:4]. For faith is a mystery held in a pure conscience [1 Tim 3:9], by which ye have access to God [Rom 5:2]; in which faith ye please God [Heb 11:6], in which faith ye have unity [Eph 4:13], which gives you the victory over that which separates from God—the enmity. In that faith be joyful, which is the faith of God's elect [Tit 1:1], that brings them over the world, and to that which was before the foundation of it. And this is the faith the just lives by [Rom 1:17, Hab 2:4], by which he is saved and justified, by which he lives and conquers, and hath the victory over the unjust; glory to the Highest! <204> Put on the helmet of salvation, and take the sword of the spirit, (the word of God,) [Eph 6:17] your helmet being on, nothing can destroy nor hurt your salvation, Christ Jesus being your helmet and your head, who destroys the devil and his works [Heb 2:14, 1 Jn 3:8], the sword of the spirit that mortifies [Rom 8:13], that crucifies, baptizes [1 Cor 12:13], cuts off, plunges under all corruptions that have gotten up since the transgression; then in the spirit ye will worship God, and have fellowship and spiritual weapons, and come to be spiritual men, and not as the carnal world that rule and wrestle with carnal weapons, and with flesh and blood [2 Cor 10:4/Eph 6:12]. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands, will dash and break into pieces [Dan 2:45] all the cutters with hands, and carnal-weaponed men about religion, church, and worship; and his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion hath no end [Dan 4:34]. This stone is that which laid Nebuchadnezzar's head low, and brought him to eat grass like a beast [Dan 4:33]; who knew not the kingdom of the Most High ruling in men [Dan 4:32]. So ye that know this stone cut out of the mountain without hands, ye all know the kingdom of the most high God ruling in you, and his dominion which is everlasting, and come to be his temple. For there was but one temple in the whole world commanded of God, as a figure of Christ, who would dwell in man, in male and female, who should be the temples of God [1 Cor 3:16], in whom should be his name and power. Blessings, honour, and glory, and praises be given to the Lord God for evermore, by all them who witness this. So all dear lambs, and babes, and brethren, happy and blessed are ye who know the seed, which is heir of the blessings, and the power, and life, and the kingdom, and the world that is everlasting and without end. Be shod all with the gospel, which is the power of God [Rom 1:16], which hath brought life and immortality to light, and hath and doth abolish death [2 Tim 1:10]; I say, be shod in the power, and then your feet will not slip nor slide, and ye will not fall, and ye will stand steadfast, being shod with the everlasting gospel, in the preparation of it [Eph 6:15]. And standing in the power ye stand over the workers of iniquity [common phrase], and all unrighteousness in the world, and slippery ways [Jer 23:12], standing in the power which was before death, darkness, and the power of darkness and death was, which hath darkened life and immortality from people, so that they could not walk and get forward on their way to the Lord. But in the power of God, (the gospel,) being in it, and with it shod, your feet standing in the power, ye over death, darkness, and the power of it may stand, walk, go, and leap, (which was before it was,) there is faithfulness and steadfastness, and there ye may walk without doubt. And keep the word of patience [Rev 3:10], and take unto you the word of God; and who are born of it, (of the immortal seed [1 Pet 1:23],) nourished by the milk of the same [1 Pet 2:2] up to eternal life, know things as they were in the beginning, they feed upon that which lives, and not upon that which is in the world and in the <205> fall, which is below the word, and below the power, and below the truth, and out of it; who know the shepherd and his crook which plucks you out, he shows you the pastures of life, in which ye must feed [Ezek 34:14]. Every one that knows the power and light, and by it is guided and turned to him, feels and knows this. And so, ye that have the word of patience, ye have the hammer, ye have that which was in the beginning [John 1:1]; ye have that which lives, and abides, and endures for ever [1 Pet 1:23]. Ye know what the hammer is to; and ye know the word is a fire [Jer 23:29], and what the fire is to. So ye that have the word, have the fire, which burns up all that which doth not abide, and doth not endure, and doth not live for ever, as the word doth; which is the word of wisdom [1 Cor 12:8]. So ye that have the word have the wisdom, which was in the beginning, before that which is below was. So ye that have the word have the sword, yea, sharper than a sword with two edges [Heb 4:12]; which will cut down all that which hath gotten up since the beginning, which hath transgressed the just spirit, and burn up that which hath gotten up since the beginning, in the transgression. And this is the word that makes clean [John 15:3], and reconciles to God; and is the word of reconciliation [2 Cor 5:19]. And this is the word of patience to keep you; and ye will be kept in the hour of temptation [Rev 3:10], that comes upon them that dwell upon the earth. For the word of God was before the tempter was, and goes over him and destroys him; in that live, in his life that is eternal, which doth abide. So in that the Lord Jesus Christ preserve you! For in that patience is exercised, in that word, which comprehends all that which hath gotten up since the beginning; for with that ye may be tried. But the word is over all, in that live, which hammers, burns, cuts down, and reconciles, against whom the tempter and temptation cannot come nigh to prevail; it breaks his head. Neither meddle nor mix yourselves with the powers of the world, nor things below; but live in the power of God, which is peaceable. And forasmuch as we are scandalized as plotters, we in the power of God do comprehend the power of darkness [Col 1:13]; which power was before the powers of darkness were, which destroys darkness and the power of it. And we cannot plot; it is impossible we should, standing in that which destroys darkness, and the devil, the power of it, who is the author of plots, and the enmity in people's minds, bondaging and bringing the creature into thraldom; which we in the power of God would have all persons from under, and would have no man's person in the whole world hurt; but in the power of God would have all men saved [1 Tim 2:4], and seek all men's peace [Heb 12:14]. And so that which manifests all plots, and the author of them, the devil, and that which judges him, and destroys him and them, are we in, and are made partakers of him who redeems and saves, and heals, and sets free, who is the power of God. So all <206> you who are partakers of the power of God, that have been turned to the light, and received the power of God, Christ Jesus [1 Cor 1:24], that hath given you power to become the sons of God [John 1:12]; in which light and power of God, by which ye were turned to him, ye come up into the liberty, the liberty of the sonship [Rom 8:21], into the power of God, that doth redeem and save, and destroy that which leads from God, which doth defile, and destroys it, and gives dominion. That is the power of God in which the saints have liberty, where the sons of God sing together, and praise, glorify, and honour their Father; to whom be glory, praise, and honour for evermore! Who in him triumpheth in glory [Exo 15:1], and can say, Emmanuel [Isa 7:14] is born, and a son is given [Isa 9:6]. So all in the life and power of God's seed and wisdom, which is everlasting, dwell, and know the seed of God in every one of you, in your own particulars, male and female, which seed is the heir of the promise [Gal 3:29], the heir of the wisdom, and heir of the world that hath no end, of an endless life, and the heir of the kingdom that is everlasting, and the heir of the blessing, where there is no curse. And every one an heir of the power, of the blessings of the kingdom, come to inherit, come to possess your own inheritance, and then sit down in your own possession; in which ye may know every one your election [1 Th 1:4], (in the seed,) which was before the world began [2 Tim 1:9], and so be possessors and inheritors of life and substance [Prov 8:21]. The substance is the seed [Isa 6:13], the top-stone, on top of the law, on top of the prophets, on top of the types, figures, shadows, parables, and ends them all, and on top of all heathens' inventions, though it hath been a mystery hid from ages [Col 1:26]. See now, the seed, the seed of the Lamb and his marriage [Rev 19:7] is known, and the Lamb reigns, where there is no curse, but the blessing. The curse is out of his dominion, who destroys the author of the curse, wrath, plagues, and wo, that hath the blessing, the seed, Christ Jesus. And all Friends, improve your talents, that to you all it may be said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servants;’ for they who do not, their talents are taken away from them, who have been slothful, complainers, and idle. [Mat 25:14-20] Let your lamps be burning, have oil in your own lamps, and salt in yourselves; then ye are the wise virgins that enter in with the bridegroom [Mat 25:1-10, Mark 9:50]. The word of God cannot be bound [2 Tim 2:9], which makes rich, which lives for ever; in which is the life. So, do not quench the spirit [1 Th 5:19], nor add to the prophecy, nor diminish; that keeps you from the plagues, and to see your names written in the Lamb's book of life [Rev 22:18f]: there stands your joy everlasting, through which ye see the white stone [Rev 2:17], through which light, power, and seed, ye overcome that which is gone forth from God. So, ye dwelling in the son of God, ye shall go no more forth, but shall inherit all things. So, farewell! Keep in the power of the Lord God, that goes over all the world, that none of your flight may be in the winter. And beware, lest any <207> of your flight be on the sabbath day [Mat 24:20], (the signification of which is rest,) but all in the power of the living God abide, in which ye may feel life, peace, and rest, and an abiding place; a secret chamber to turn into, till the indignation and wrath of the Lord be passed, which is to come over all transgressors. And if the judgment begin at the house of God first, and the righteous pass the straight way to salvation, where will the hypocrites and the sinners appear? [1 Pet 4:17f] Over whom the overflowing scourge [Isa 28:15] must come and pass. Therefore in the life, power, and love of God, all dwell. And the apostle saith, ‘Forsake not the assembling of yourselves [Heb 10:25], (as the manner of some is,') but edify one another in the light and the life, as the day doth appear: and to say, that people must not meet together to worship God, they may as well say, ye must not be christians. For persecutors were always blind, and they stopped their ears to the spirit of God in themselves formerly; so were in the blind zeal, and turned against them who were in the true zeal, in the spirit of God. G. F.