Joshua Redivivus, or Mr. Rutherford's Letters

Much honoured and dearest in my Lord, Grace, mercy & peace be to you, my soul longeth exceedingly to hear how matters go betwixt you and Christ; and whether or not there be any work of Christ in that parish, that will bide the trial of fire & water: let me be weighed of my Lord in a just balance, if your souls lie not weighty upon me: you go to bed & you rise with me, thoughts of your soul (my dearest in our Lord) depart not from me in my sleep; ye have a great part of my tears, sighs, supplications, & prayers: O if I could buy your souls salvation with any suffering whatsoever, & that ye & I might meet with joy up in the Rain-bow, when we shall stand before our judge! O my Lord forbid I have any hard thing to depone against you in that day! O that he who quickeneth the dead, would give life to my sowing among you! what joy is there (next to Christ) that standeth on this side of death, would comfort me more, then that the souls of that poor people were in safety, & beyond all hazard of losing? Sir, show the people this, for when I write to you I think I write to you all old and young. fulfil my joy and seek the Lord: Sure I am, once I discovered my, lovely, royal, princely Lord Jesus to you all. Woe, woe woe shall be your part of it for evermore, if the Gospel be not the savour of life unto life to you: as many sermons as I preached, as many sentences as I uttered, as many points of dittay shall they be, when the Lord shall plead with the world, for the evil of their doings Believe me, I find heaven a city hard to be won, the righteous will scarcely be saved: O what violence of thronging, will heaven take! alas I see many deceiving them selves, for we will all to heaven, now every foul dog with his foul feet will in at the nearest, to the new & clean Jerusalem: all say they have faith, & the greatest part in the world know not and will not consider, that a slip in the ⟨p. 38⟩matter of their salvation, is the most pitiful slip that can be; & that no loss is comparable to this loss. O then see that there be not a loose pin in the work of your salvation! for ye will not believe how quickly the judge will come? & for your self, I know that death is waiting & hovering, & lingering at Gods command, that ye may be prepared. Then ye had need to stir you time & to take eternity, & death, to your riper advisement;

MUch honoured and dearest in my Lord, Grace, mercy & peace be to you, my soul longeth exceedingly to hear how matters goe betwixt you and Christ; and whether or not there be any work of Christ in that parish, that will bide the triall of fire & water: let me be weighed of my Lord in a just ballance, if your souls lie not weighty upon me: you goe to bed & you rise with me, thoughts of your soul (my dearest in our Lord) depart not from me in my sleep; ye have a great part of my tears, sighs, supplications, & prayers: O if I could buy your souls salvation with any suffering whatsoever, & that ye & I might meet with joy up in the Rain-bow, when we shall stand before our judge! O my Lord forbid I have any hard thing to depon against you in that day! O that he who quickneth the dead, would give life to my sowing among you! what joy is there (next to Christ) that standeth on this side of death, would comfort me more, then that the souls of that poor people were in afety, & beyond all hazard of losing? Sir, shew the people this, for when I write to you I think I write to you all old and young. fulfill my joy and seek the Lord: Sure I am, once I discovered my, lovely, royall, princely Lord Jesus to you all. Woe, woe woe shall be your part of it for evermore, if the Gospel be not the savour of life unto life to you: as many sermons as I preached, as many sentences as I uttered, as many points of dittay shall they be, when the Lord shall plead with the world, for the evil of their doings Beleeve me, I finde heaven a city hard to be won, the righteous will scarcely be saved: O what violence of thronging, will heaven take! alace I see many deceiving them selves, for we will all to heaven, now every foul dog with his foul feet will in at the neerest, to the new & clean Jerusalem: all say they have faith, & the greatest part in the world know not and will not consider, that a slip in the