Joshua Redivivus, or Mr. Rutherford's Letters

In General I may say this of these Epistles [& it may be after thou hast perused them, thou wilt seal it] that thou hast many volumes wrapped up together in a few words, a great soul shut up in a little body, much of the marrow of real religion, enclosed in every line: If thou be only taken & delighted with abstruse & high-flown notions, which have not a native connection with inflaming the heart, with love to God; but are rather the Ignis fatuus of the age, being for the most part, smoke for light, or at best, a dime flash, rising out of the darkened understanding of men, whose light, till they be illuminate from above; as it arises out of a dark dungeon; so, it leads to destruction, & in stead of directing the man who follows it, to a place of rest, it leads him to the pit, & leaves him there to perish. If thou be taken, I say with such kind of stuff; I shall not bide thee, but I know thou wilt go else where; but if thou be one, who loves not to feed upon ashes, & hast no mind to fill thy belly with that east wind, which in stead of nourishment, produceth nothing but much torment in the inward parts, I know thou wilt welcome this piece, as that which hath both meat & medicine for thy soul in it: Here thou wilt meet with one warmed with the love of God, shining & reflecting heat upon all that are about him, letting thee know from his own experience, what is to be found in a fellowship with God, & desirous of nothing so much, as that thou & others may share with him in that same love, which is better then life, & be partakers of that same blessedness, which made him boast of God all the day & bless him self in his afflicted lot: He would have thee taste of that, which made him cheerful under the cross, & put him in case, not only to look, but to laugh all his troubles out of countenance: And if thou wilt but converse with him a little, it may be, thou find ⟨image 16⟩thy heart burn within the while thou talkest with this warm soul, whose words seem as they drop, to cast fire in the affections, & set the heart in a flame. The Author in his other writings (which have always a special tincture of holiness; for even in following the most abstruse notion, & apparently remote from practice, thou wilt still perceive him spirare sanctitatem) he is much above many men;

In Generall I may say this of these Epistles [& it may be after thou hast perused them, thou wilt seal it] that thou hast many volumes wrapt up together in a few words, a great soul shut up in a little body, much of the marrow of real religion, inclosed in every line: If thou be onely taken & delighted with obstruse & high-flown notions, which have not a native connexion with inflaming the heart, with love to God; but are rather the Ignis fatuus of the age, being for the most part, smoak for light, or at best, a dime flash, rising out of the darkned understanding of men, whose light, till they be illuminat from above; as it arises out of a darke dungeon; so, it leads to destruction, & in stead of directing the man who followes it, to a place of rest, it leads him to the pit, & leaves him there to perish. If thou be taken, I say with such kinde of stuffe; I shall not bide thee, but I know thou wilt goe else where; but if thou be one, who loves not to feed upon ashes, & hast no minde to fill thy belly with that east winde, which in stead of nourishment, produceth nothing but much torment in the inward parts, I know thou wilt welcome this piece, as that which hath both meat & medicine for thy soul in it: Here thou wilt meet with one warmed with the love of God, shining & reflecting heat upon all that are about him, letting thee know from his own experience, what is to be found in a fellowship with God, & desireous of nothing so much, as that thou & others may share with him in that same love, which is better then life, & be partakers of that same blessedness, which made him boast of God all the day & blesse him self in his afflicted lot: He would have thee taste of that, which made him cheerfull under the cross, & put him in case, not onely to look, but to laugh all his troubles out of countenance: And if thou wilt but converse with him a little, it may be, thou finde