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Editor's note: This Circular Letter does not have the date listed; it is probably from 1767, the year the association was formed. - Jim Duvall
Circular Letter
Warren Baptist Association (New England)
By James Manning
"The Elders and Messengers of several churches belonging to the Association, met in Warren, in the colony of Rhode Island, etc. To the several churches they represent, -- Greeting.
"Dear Brethren: We have had the pleasure of meeting your representatives at the Association, who in general have brought us
good news from the churches. We rejoice to see that the Son of Man is pleased to walk in the midst of his golden candlesticks, the
churches, to dispense his blessings to his people, and to attend the Word of the Kingdom with Divine power to the salvation of sinners. Come, help us to magnify the Lord for his unspeakable mercy and goodness. Yet we find that the enemies of truth are busily
employed in endeavoring to subvert it, and in vexing and oppressing those who stand up as advocates for the cause of God. Brethren,
we sympathize with you under your afflictions, while we call to mind the declaration of your ascended Head to his beloved flock whom
he left behind: In the world ye shall have tribulation. Yet how refreshing is what follows: But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. Those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Let not the powers of the world, who set
themselves to oppose, disconrage you. Search for the mind of Christ in his Word; which being discovered, pay a sacred regard
thereto. Call no man master on earth; and remember that the followers of Christ carry their cross in imitation of their Divine Master.
Brethren, suffer us, however, to beseech you to use all proper means to obtain relief from the burdens imposed upon you, by taking
heed to the general plan which we as a body propose to pursue. But while you attend to human means, let your cries be incessant to
Him who hears and will redress the cries of the oppressed. Pray for those who despitefully use you. Remember that love enters deeply into the spirit of our holy religion;
[p. 345]
and that the glorious Founder thereof has given us the most striking example of it, in loving and dying for his enemies. Walk soberly and inoffensively towards those without; and let your conduct prove that it is the power of truth, the force of conscience, that makes you Baptists, and not an affectation of singularity. And as you are persuaded that you have been taught by the Spirit of God, so let your light shine before others that you may win them to the truth. In the meantime, carefully guard against any designs to ensnare you, or to engage you in any combination with them that may eventually prove to the detriment of the cause.
"Finally, may the Lord Jesus afford you his presence, and bless you with abundant increase in all grace, to the glory of his great name."
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[From Alvah Hovey, The Life and Times of Isaac Backus, 1858; rpt. 1991, Appendix D, pp. 344-345. Hovey states that Manning is the author. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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