James Nayler, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, to all that love the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ everywhere, grace and peace be multiplied from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
My dear Hearts, you whom the Lord has manifested so much love to, as to call you out of sin and death, and the world, all the delights and pleasures of the world which fade away, up to Himself; where is joy unspeakable, pleasures and riches that endure forevermore.
Dear Friends, watch and be sober, that you may hear the voice of your Beloved when He calls, and let not the precious proffers of the love of God be tendered in vain. While you have an ear opened to the world, you cannot hear the voice of God; so that you have been made to groan under it. How long have you been deceived by it? All your time promising peace, fullness, and satisfaction: but have been brought to cry out of oppression and deceit. And your cries are come before the Lord of Sabbaths, who is your rest; and He is now appeared to deliver you, and set you free from bondage, that you may serve Him alone.
And now take heed of consulting with your old master: has the Lord been so merciful to you, as that He has set your faces out of Sodom and Egypt, towards the promised land? Oh! take heed of looking back, lest you be taken captive, and led back again; and so you come short of redemption, and your faith fail you, and so you come short of the promise; for unbelief cannot enter into the rest. But you, dear Friends, put on resolution, put on strength, be valiant for your freedom, cast off every weight, follow your Captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and so entered into rest and glory.
Take heed of halting between God and the world: What agreement can there be, or what peace while you are married to the world? Your thoughts turn in there, and you are adulterated from God, who gives you all good things, and so many tokens of His love. Hereby is the broken language brought forth, and you cannot speak the pure language of the land of rest. And while you give way to that in you, which leads you to look back to what is behind you, you keep yourselves in the wilderness and darkness; and lose your way, and know not where you are; grieving the Holy Spirit of the Lord, which has appeared to you to guide you.
But, (O Friends!) mind your Guide and follow Him; Arise, shine, your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you; the night is far spent, the day is at hand, even the day of Sion's deliverance: Arise, come away, all you that love her, come off from the world and worldly things, come into the life, lie no longer in death and dead things. Awake, you that sleep, and stand up from the dead, that Christ may give you light: Come forth, come forth of all created things, witness your redemption from the world, that you are redeemed from the earth up to God, out of all kindreds, tongues, people and nations, to reign as kings and priests forever, above the world, sin and death, triumphing and treading upon all that would take you captive. This is the day of your deliverance, own it with the loss of all fading pleasures, make it appear to all the world, this is the day you waited for: even this day of your joy, but of the world's sorrow: a day of blackness and gloominess; a day of fear and trouble to them that oppress you; a day wherein the kingdom of Jesus Christ shall be exalted, and all the kingdoms and powers of the earth shaken; a day wherein the Lord will avenge the power of him that is too strong for you. Rejoice, rejoice, you meek of the earth, shout for joy, you poor despised ones, whom your brethren have trodden upon, and have cast you out, and you have been made their mocking stock for the truth's sake; sing and rejoice, the voice of a King is among you, and He will marry you to Himself in righteousness, purity and holiness, and will rejoice over you, as a bridegroom over the bride, and you shall be for a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
O my dear Hearts! My desire to God for you all is, that you might come to see what unspeakable riches is laid up for you in Jesus Christ, which is hid from all flesh, neither can they see it who live after the flesh: And while they continue their love to the world and worldly things, they keep out the manifestation of the Father's love, for their hearts cannot receive both.
Now show yourselves wise men, choose that which is eternal: here is light and life tendered to you in Jesus Christ, freely out of the Father's love, and show forth life and love to God again, by giving up to Him all you have, and all you are for Christ's sake; that so you may come to receive all again with Christ, who is the fullness of the Father's love, and in Him are all good things needful for this life, and that which is to come, even the earnest of your inheritance, which none can take from you; which being received, you shall never hunger more, having a well-spring within, even the witness of eternal life and love. And as Christ appears, who is our life and love; so shall life and love appear, spring, blossom, and bring forth fruit towards God and man: That so, being raised by Him from death and dead works, you may henceforth live to God: And being brought into oneness with Him, and purity, and holiness, you may be one among yourselves, of one heart and of one mind, speaking one and the self-same thing; and having the same care one for another, as for yourselves. And take heed that there be not in any of you a principle of self-love, which will lead to separation and division, casting a stumbling-block in the way of the simple; and so they that are weak, may be defiled and turned back into the world.
And I beseech you, brethren, that you mark them that once set their faces towards Sion, but not being willing to deny the world, and take up the cross, have consulted with flesh and blood, and turned back into Egypt again: of such take heed, knowing, that the same spirit that has wrought in them deceitfully, will not cease to work by them to deceive others, to maintain its own kingdom. But you, standing fast in the pure light of Christ, shall see where those return, and the cause of their returnings, and that the end of such is worse than the beginning: but there will be such, that they who are approved may be manifest. But you, my brethren, be you so far from following such, that their falling away, may cause you to watch, and search by what power you stand; and so a pure fear may be preserved in you, by which you may be kept in the way that leads to the crown which is immortal; for it is he that overcomes that must wear the crown: Wherefore faint not, nor think anything too hard the Lord calls you to; nothing must suffer, but that which is to die, that your souls may live. Oh! your light affliction works for you a far more exceeding weight of glory, while you keep your eye to that which is invisible. Wherefore give up yourselves to His will in all things.
Stand in the will of God in your present condition, you are my joy in the Lord, let my bowels be refreshed to hear of your steadfastness and growth in truth. Take heed of propounding ends to yourselves in anything, for that leads out of the way of God, and gives way to your own wisdom; and so you seek to preserve that alive which is appointed for death, and so you maintain war against God, and know it not. And in this condition you can have no peace, while the enemies are in arms against your peace. Oh! dear Friends, you are in my heart, my prayer to God for you is, that you may be kept blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed forever.
My fellow prisoner, and dear companion in the Lord, salutes you all. Cease not to pray for us, that we may be kept to His praise, who has counted us worthy to suffer for His name. We are well, and in great peace, kept in our Father's love above all. We are often brought to stand, and wonder how we are kept in the midst of the fire, and not consumed; and the more that the enemy rages, the more are we kept in peace within. Here are strange devices used to ensnare us, to get ought against us (true or false) but all is ordered by a Power the world knows not. God is our strength, rejoice with us, all dear Friends, and praise His name forevermore, for He is worthy, for His mercy endures forever.
(James Nayler, A prisoner at Appleby in Westmorland for the truth's sake, 1653)
http://www.strecorsoc.org/jnayler/epistles.html#1
