To the

Children of God.

In which are contained the great & fundamental Truths of the true Christian Religion: regarding the All of God, the Nothingness of Man original: "le Tout de Dieu, le Neant de l'Homme." This reflects a core mystical concept where God is the only true reality, and the human ego, separated from God, is considered "nothing.", his Freedom, his End, his Corruption, & his Renewal. We have cited in the margin several Passages from the Holy Scriptures to show the conformity of the Spirit of God with itself. However, we realized this strategy too late to be able to practice it throughout the rest of the book, which was already printed before this plan was conceived.

Decorative woodcut initial J featuring floral motifs and scrolling foliate patterns.

I. The design, subject matter, & necessity of this Work.

I have proposed, CHILDREN OF GOD, to show you in this present treatise the state of a true Christian: what they must believe, what they must say & desire, & principally what they must practice to be a true Disciple of Jesus Christ. This is because all these things are so necessary in the present time that, a Psalm 119. v. 155. a unless one knows and practices them, there is no salvation to be hoped for. This is why I say and say again b Phil. 3. v. 1. b in various ways and with different terms the same things, in order to better instill them into the Heart & the Spirit of all those who desire to reach the blessed eternal life. And I find myself obliged to declare these Christian truths to you, since I see so many souls...