stand for the King I have spoke of three sorts of Ministers yet there is but one Truth Now this one Truth not being rightly known by these three sorts of Ministers hence it comes to pass That they preach Christ saith the Apostle out of envy and strife one against another Phil. 1.15 16 17. He that stands for the Truth as it is in Jesus and so preacheth it he only stands for the good of the King and Kingdom All of you say that you stand for the truth and preach the truth so there were some in the Church of Ephesus that seemed to be great and said they were Apostles but they were found lyers Revel 2.2 There is an old proverb Like Priests Sect. 2 like people and so on the other side as a State changes or alters in matters of Religion so the people will change and alter in matters of Religion but a State or a Councel of those men that are called Divines are not to fit at the stern as the steer-man doth for to compel by force or to force men in matters of Religion contrary to that which he knows himself and so doubtingly a man doth that out of fear which afterwards becomes sin For whatsoever is not of faith is sin Rom. 14.23 Therefore we ought to wait till God doth perswade the heart of a man for a man ought to be perswaded in his own minde that he may do nothing against the truth but for the truth Rom. 14.5 So in the next place let us look to him whose place it is to sit at the stern and that is Jesus Christ Now there is none that will presume to sit in that place with Jesus Christ but onely one and that is Antichrist and he with his do exalt themselves above Christ who is God as you may plainly see 2 Thes 2.4 7 8 9 10. And this mystery of iniquity is discovered in these latter times by the Spirit of Christs mouth and with the brightness of his coming Now Christ in the heart of a man is the onely and the alone steers-man he guides the soul in matters of Religion he teaches the soul the pure Religion which is to have faith in God and to fear and to love God and to have hope and confidence in God and he teaches the soul to know that he hath presented it to God without sin or spot of sin or wrinkle or any such thing and that it shall stand without blame forever before him in love and Christ in the soul doth help the soul in this present wicked world for to fly from sin as from a serpent and Christ by his Spirit doth lead forth the soul for to rejoyce in God and to see God rejoycing over it for to do it good Iere. 32.40 41. Eph. 5.27 And so likewise Christ leads forth the soul actively to be subject to the Magistrate in all lawful demands Rom. 13.1 5. And so likewise Christ doth help the soul passively to be subject to the Magistrate in all unlawful demands that is to suffer if you cannot do that which they command you as for instance Be it known unto thee O King say those three Worthies we wil not serve thy gods though thou cast us into the burning fiery furnace Dan. 3.18 19 20. And those that Christ doth thus inable can pray and do pray for the Magistrate therefore let them live peaceably by you in your Cities and Parishes and do not disdain them and force them to say as Paul said in another case and now we shal have no more place in these parts hardly to live in 1 Tim. 2.1 2. Rom. 15.23 There have been false Prophets Sect. 3 and false Teachers amongst the Churches in all ages of the world down to this very day 2 Pet. 2.1 Therefore saith our Savior Beware of false Prophets and false Teachers Mat. 7.15 Quest Object But how shal one know the true Teachers from the false Ans By their fruits saith Christ Sol. ye shal know them Mat. 7.16 Q. What is meant by Fruits Object Humane Learning or an outside shew of holiness for this the chief Priests and Pharisees had Ans Sol. Humane Learning and an outside shew of holiness are necessary but they are fruits that wil wither as the chief Priests and Pharisees did 1 Cor. 1.19 20 28 29. Mat. 23.28 Q. Object But how shal one know the fruits of the true Teachers of Christ and a true Beleever in Christ A. Sol. He that hath heard Christ and hath been taught by Christ is one in Truth and one with Truth and is puting off the old man and is puting on the new man and they are renewed in the spirit of their minds and are ordained of God in Christ to walk in good works before God and towards men Eph. 4.21 22 23 24. 2.10 Ioh. 15.4 5. Q. Quest But you wil say who must judg of these things A. Answ Not the Learned of the world nor the Elders that are in years but he that is an Elder in Christ for these things are foolishness to the natural learned men and the Elders only in years cannot perceive them how then can they judg But the spiritual man is able to judg of all things because he knows the mind of Jesus Christ who only knows the mind of God and reveals it to them by his Spirit who searcheth the deep things of God 1 Cor. 1.18 19. 1 Cor. 2.9 10 14 15 16. Q. Now you wil ask what can these men do more then other men Quest that you have spoke so much of A. Answ They can do more then the learned men of the world can do for they can read the Scriptures and speak the mind of Christ to the people distinctly and give a right sense of the Word because they have been with Jesus and Jesus hath been in them and hath given them an understanding for to know him to be the only Truth The chief Priests and Pharisees being grieved at Peter and Iohn took notice of them that they had been with Jesus and the chief Priests and the Elders put them into prison and threatned them as we do the poor Independents read Acts 4.2 3 13 21.23 and so 1 Ioh. 5.20 Q. But you wil say Quest Can you give an instance of such abilities in learned men and unlearned men and are there any such now in our days A. Ans Yes Ezra the Priest did read in the Book in the Law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading Neh. 8.2 3 5 8. And so likewise Peter and Iohn the Disciples of Christ they were unlearned men and yet they could not but speak the things which they had heard and seen Acts 4.13 20. And so likewise it was the practise of Christ himself begining at Moses and all the Prophets he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures things concerning himself Luke 24.27 The letter of the Scriptures is as a parable to the learned of the world and to
which is God to lift up his head that he may look into heaven and see the glory of God and Jesus Christ the right hand of God opening himself to receive his poor weary soul O what a refreshing comfort is this unto a dying man to see the heavens of God in Christ opening A beleeving soul sees it self happy and compleat in God through Iesus Christ and the Son of man God-man standing with the souls of men which he hath made just and perfect and they standing as the right hand of God in Christ as a Queen in gold of Ophir All this you may have an instance of in Steven if you do but read Acts 7.55 56. And so likewise in the whole Church of Christ if you do but read Heb. 12.22 23 24. Psal 45.9 And thus a poor soul is received from misery unto glory even into Abrahams bosom that is into the bosom of Jesus Christ where it takes up its rest as Steven did but while the poor soul doth live in this world it shal find trouble For all that do live the life of God in Christ Iesus shal suffer persecution in this world 2 Tim. 3.12 All relations under the Sun variable as the relation to a wife to a family in Church fellowship in professed friends in parents and in children in riches and in outward contentments but in Christ all these are constant and dureable For a mans enemies shal be they of his own houshold Mat. 10.36 Nay in Church fellowship which is like an houshold if they differ in judgment read 1 Pet. 4.16 to 19. If it be so in a mans houshold and in Church fellowship as there is experience between the Presbyterian and the Independent I shal conclude and say as David said It is good for me to draw neer to God and to desire him to plant my confidence and my joy in him alone for in every external condition in this world I shal find trouble But my fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Iesus Christ and spiritually there I shal find good cheer read these Scriptures Psal 73.25 26 28. 1 Iohn 1.3 4. Iohn 16.32 33. Sect. 4 I shal speak now of a precious balsam and a sweet cordial that wil heal all our diseases in this Kingdom that is if the Lord would be pleased to raise a flood of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and cause it to run with a mighty stream into the hearts of the King and the Parliament this would enable them to bear one anothers burthens and so fulfil the Law of Christ that is to restore the poor groaning subjects in the spirit of meekness that they may rejoyce once again Gal. 6.1 2. Now he that ruleth over men must be just mark this ruling in the fear of God read 2 Sam. 23.3 Now my hope is and my desire shal be that God would be pleased through Christ his strong arm to make good that Prophesie in our days which is spoken of in the Prophet Isaiah That Kings may be nursing Fathers and Queens may be nursing mothers in these our days O that we might truly say once out of experience that we are beholding to them as nourishers or for their good nursing Isai 49.23 For this end God did set up Kings at the first as David and Solomon who were types of the spiritual King Jesus and fed their people with wholsom and sweet food that is with a peaceable life as good Magistrates and preserved them in all godliness against those that would harm them and disquiet them Psa 78.70 71 72. But of this we have had but little these many years instance in those domineering Bishops and the high Commission Court which was of long standing and persecuted godliness under the name of Puritans or some other names but I hope it will not be so now therefore let us follow the Apostles Exhortation That prayer be made for Kings and for all that are in Authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty for he or they that ruleth over men must be just ruling in the fear of God 1 Tim. 2.1 2. and 2 Sam. 23.3 Courteous Reader Sect. 5 I shal speak a word or two in my own defence and so conclude Now my first word is When I first set my pen to paper it was not with any sinister respect or by-end but it was for the glory of God Neither was it for profit nor the applause of men for that to me is as a vain thing I speak the words of truth and soberness But seeing the customary and the outside Pharisaicalness which most men and women of all sorts use in matters of Religion Ministers as wel as others this I saw and was at a loss within my self but the Lord did teach me to consider of it and then I went to glean as Ruth did into the field of Boaz read Ruth 2.7 8 9. But the field that mine eyes was upon to glean in it was not the field of external Art nor the field of a great Library for that is to learn to speak other mens words which I disclaim But mine eyes were upon that only one field where I gleaned among the sheaves and that field is the Scriptures the only one Book which I had and no more and that is the Bible which is the Word of God Now courteous Reader I have gleaned and am satisfied and I commend that unto you which I have reserved and as Naomi did make use of the barley which Ruth did glean as you may read Ruth 2.18 so I desire that you may be wise to make use of what hath been said for your own good and I shal be glad Sect. 6 Now my second and last word is to the Christ-baptized man or woman for I speak unto thee O man or woman who art inwardly taught by the sweet Spirit of God hast that unction from the holy One which wil teach thee to know all things for that anointing abideth in thee anâ— teacheth thee all truths and thou shalt abide in him or it 1 Iohn 2.20 27. Therefore I speak to thee O man or woman who art baptized with the Spirit of Christ because thou art the best able to discern between wheat and chaff True Christian Reader when I first set pen to paper my heart was inabled to indite of matter concerning the Lord of Lords and I spake of things touching Christ the King and my heart was stirred within me as the water is when it bubbleth up or the water which the fire boyleth And I was made able by the sweet Spirit of God who did blow sweet gales of wind spiritually into my heart Ioh. 3.8 And I was so refreshed by them for they so comforted my heart that my tongue became as the pen of a ready writer The knowledg of the mystery of God in the flesh of Christ the Saints and the givings forth of the Spirit are not got by
life but we are to work from a principle of life which is in Christ Jesus A right knowledg of this and the exceeding great and precious promises and the in-comes and the in-dwelling of the Divine Nature in our nature and in our hearts Now this is the seed in the tree of life which wil cause us to â—ease from our selves whose breath is in our nostrils and we shal cease from our own doings For wherein are we to be accounted of Now in this day and at this time The loftiness and the haughtiness of men shal be made low and the Lord alone shal be exalted in that day read and compare 2 Pet. 1.3 4. Isa 2.17 20 21 22. together Now when the grace of God in Christ doth abound in your hearts saith the Apostle That wil make you that ye shal neither be barren nor unfruitful in the works of the Lord nor in the knowledg of our Lord Jesus Christ read 2 Pet. 1.5 6 7 8. Now this wil stop the mouths of your adversaries that say that you say Christ hath done all for you and you need to do nothing Now I know you wil answer and say as Christ said to Philip The words that you speak The Saints defence and the works that you do it is not you that do them but it is Christ who is God that dwelleth in you that doth all in you and for you and by the strength of Christ you do what you do and Christ shal have all the praise Ioh. 14.10 Fourthly You are accused of saying That you need not pray for the pardon of sin Of the pardon of Sin Now the Love of God and the Blood of Jesus are the pardon of sin and the pardon for sin and the sweet Spirit of God is the Messenger that brings the Manifestations of this pardon unto the soul nay into the soul and makes it glad In my love I have bloted out thy sins as a thick cloud saith the Lord. Isa 44.22 And with my Sons blood I have writen a pardon Rom. 5.8 9 10 11. Heb. 9.22 28. Now this pardon lies in the Covenant ordered in all things and made everlastingly sure though I do not as yet beleeve it or at sometimes I do not so clearly see it or feel it in my soul Read and consider 2 Sam. 23.4 5. Hebr. 10.16 17 18 19. Now in time of Trouble The time of Temptation or in time of Ignorance when men do not beleeve or in time of Desertion when God doth withdraw himself or hide his face or in the time of men being weak in faith then they are apt to think that there is no pardon or that there must be one got made for them but there is one ready for them before they pray for it or cal for it Isa 42.6 7. Now the love of God and the blood of this man saith the Apostle meaning Christ who offered one sacrifice for sins from the foundation of the world 1 John 4.9 Heb. 10.12 14. Rev. 13.8 Now this is the pardon that is ever ready for poor siners to come unto and it is able to save them to the uttermost Hebrews 7.24 25 26. Now we are not so much to ask for the pardon for that is sure and stedfast in the heaven of God but we are to ask much more for the manifestations of this pardon in our own souls and that by the Spirit of God and this wil make the lame man leap as an Hart Isa 35.5 How the soul is refreshed 6 7. and make the sick man wel and heal all our doubts and expel our fears and make us holy and heavenly before God as for instance saith Ieremiah The Comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me Lam. 1.16 And so in David Lord saith he I know my pardon is sure but there is a cloud before me and it Lord saith he take this cloud away Davids prayer Ps 51. opened and cause me to hear the joy and gladness that I had wont to have in and with the Spirit of Christ O Lord restore this joy and let me have thy free Spirit to comfort me and uphold me O Lord let thy holy Spirit be constantly in my brest or in my heart that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce The absence of thy Spirit O God is as the breaking of bones and the presence of thy Spirit O God is as marrow and fatness and as wine upon the lees And thus it was in David Psa 51.8 9 10 11 12. And thus it was between the Church and the Spirit of Christ in her union and communion with the Spirit of Christ I am thine and thou art mine saith the soul to Christ I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine And this we know saith the Apostle by the Spirit of God which he hath freely given unto us Cant. 6.3 1 Cor. 2.12 13. Now the question is not whether there be a pardon or not a pardon but whether I saith a poor soul have any interest in this pardon or no The perplexities of a poor soul wanting assurance I know not And if I had saith a poor soul or if I could but get saith another poor soul the assurance of the pardon of my sins then I should tread the world under my feet I know saith another poor soul that there is a pardon but whether it be for me or no it is not as yet revealed unto me but if it were revealed in my soul then it would be as a crown of life to me as David said Lord saith he thou hast crowned me with loving kindness and with tender mercies Psa 103.4 10 11 12. Now the word Pardon which is so much spoke of amongst us and prayed for by us it is apparently known to be and to be generally held forth unto all men for Christ hath spread as large a plaister as Adam made the sore Rom. 5.18 1 Tim. 2.4 5 6. And life and death good and evil blessing and cursing are set before men therefore chuse life O men for why wil ye dye O ye sons of men Deut. 30.13 14 15 19. Ezek. 18.31 Now you wil say I am for general Redemption and for free wil. I answer An Objectionmade and answered I am for that which God is for It is not in faln man to direct his steps to God Jer. 10.23 All men in Adam went out of the way from God and are to be found in a way of sin Rom. 3.11 12 18. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots No it is their nature we have a proverb That custom is a second nature Man at the first falling into sin sin is become a custom and so is become a second nature and so men drink in sin as a fish drinks in water John 8.44 The Ethiopian cannot change his skin no more can a man change himself that is accustomed to sin Ier. 13.23 A man in his sins is dead
94.7 8 9 10 11. Gen. 1.31 1 Iohn 3.8 Rom. 8.28 Psal 103.14 15. Hosea 13.9 Psal 30.5 Isai 27.4 Hosea 14.4 Gen. 3.8 Tit. 3.4 5 6. Psal 110.3 Revel 22.2 4 5 16. 1 Iohn 3.9 Matth. 12.28 29. 2 Cor. 7.1 Luke 18.9 Rom. 7.18 Colos 2.14 Gal. 6.14 Col. 1.27 29. Gal. 6.14 Rom. 7.15 Rom. 7.25 Iere. 23.21 30 to the end 1 King 22.11 12. 2 Pet. 2.1 Matth. 24.24 25. Phil. 3.20 Ephes 2.20 21. Iohn 14.2 Isai 33.17 Phil. 3.20 Gen. 5.24 Heb. 11.5 Psal 9.10 1 Iohn 4.1 2 3. Isai 1.11 12. Isai 58.2 3. Iere. 7.4 8 14. Iere. 5.30 31. Phil. 3.4 5 6 7 8. 1 Corinth 1.18 19 to the end 1 Corinth 13.4 5 6 7 8. 1 Iohn 3.11 12 13. Iames 4.1 Mark 7.21 22. Revel 12.1 Gen. 2.2 3. Heb. 4.9 10. Matth. 17.5 Iohn 17.23 24. Hebr. 2.11 12 13. I Shall speak a word of the freeness of the pardon which is in general Sect. 1 held forth unto all men Isai 55.1 2 7. This is the ground I confess of every ones coming that comes aright If the pardon be free to every one then I am within the number Now this pardon of sin which we pray for it is not to be made now for it was in God with Christ before the foundation of the world Rev. 13.8 Eph. 1.4 5. Rom. 5.8 Psa 68.18 Rom. 8.3 Heb. 9.22 28. And so much in general of the pardon of sin Now I shall speak a word of this pardon in particular And here lyes a scruple and here lyes everlasting comfort I know Object says some this pardon is held forth to all But yet for all this I cannot beleeve that it is for me I answer Sol. If you know it by the hearing of the ear naturally and earnally and by the seeing of the eye sensually and according to your natural sense and no more then you cannot know it nor beleeve it by these for your good because it is spiritually discerned 1 Cor. 2.14 Secondly I answer A man may have a true knowledg of the pardon of his sin and yet have the comfortableness of it withdrawn for a time Now here comes in a right panting and breathing and praying not for the pardon of sin for that is sure in God but here is a praying for a comfortable evidence and the sweet manifestations of the Spirit of God to my soul or in my soul O Lord saith David pardon my sin Psalm 25.11 Now David at this time did know that his sins were pardoned You will ask how I know that Quest He himself said Answ That God had made with him an everlasting pardon or covenant ordered in all things and sure and this is all my salvation and all my desire although he make it not to grow saith he 2 Sam. 23.5 And I know the Lord changeth not for he hath said it Mal. 3.6 Now David was a strong man in the Lord and yet he was up one while and down another while Up when the Spirit of God did act the grace of Faith in him then he did flourish like a green bay-tree and then his mountain was strong but when the sweet Spirit of God did withdraw it self then David was troubled Psal 30.7 Now a poor soul in its winter season when its fruits are in its roots Sect. 2 is kept by the power of God as in the secret chamber of God and lives upon a word of promise when it doth not see the spirits fruits at that time it beleeves that God is faithful though he doth not shine upon it and cause it to grow 1 Pet. 1.5 7. Isai 43.1 2 5. Now a poor soul not having the heat and sunshine of the Spirit is discontented though it may have its eye fixed upon its pardon which is sure and stedfast O saith Mary Magdalen they have taken away my Lord And so saith the poor soul Iohn 20.13 O Lord saith David let the light of thy Spirit shiâ—e into my soul and that will make me more glad then corn and wine increased Psal 4.6 7 8. One smile from thy fatherly countenance O Lord one beam or glance of the refreshings of thy sweet Spirit O let me hear of spiritual joy and gladness and then I shall follow thee all the day long My soul panteth for thee the living God I cannot live but in thy light restore my wonted joys My heart and my flesh fail me But God is my rock and my well-spring of joy and he never faileth and this is all my joy Psal 51.8 12. 73.25 26. 36.8 9. The poor soul once being possessed of this spiritual dew it begins to speak of the excellency of Christ while the Spirit of grace sitteth as king in my soul and hath spred his table full of divine Graces upon which my soul doth feed and while the King sitteth upon his throne in my soul saith the Church my graces send forth a pleasant smell While the king lodgeth within my brest saith the poor soul he his sweet as a bundle of myrrhe to my soul And the king saith I am fair and there is no spot in me because of the comeliness which he hath put upon me and he saith that I am fair and have doves eyes read Cant. 1.3 12 13. Eze. 16.14 Cant. 4.1 Now a poor soul being brought by the king into the banqueting house on the day of the Lord nay in the day of the Lord and upon the Lords day I mean Christ who is the Lords day Psalm 118.22 23 24. Now Christ is the king of this day and the day it self in which every true believing soul doth abide for ever any Christ himself is the house into which the poor soul is brought and Christ himself holds his banner of love over a poor soul and makes it glad in himself Cant. 2.4 Now Christ and the soul have sweet communion together Sect. 3 and Jesus Christ tells the soul of his Fathers great love unto it before the foundation of the world and that he hath chosen it in him and blessed it with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in himself And Christ tells the soul that it shall stand in him for ever before God and be holy and without blame before him in love Ephes 1.3 4. And Christ tells the soul that he came out of the bosom of the Father to be its ransom and to pay its debts to the law and to sin and to hell and the devil and the grave John 1.16 17 18. Isai 53. read the whole Chapter Hosea 13.14 1 Cor. 15.54 55 56 57 58. Heb. 2.14 15. And so likewise Christ tells the soul he will inable it to beleeve all this Heb. 12.2 And so Christ tells the soul he will make it fruitful in good works before God and men that they may glorifie God on their behalf Eph. 2.10 Matth. 5.15 16. And Christ tells the soul he hath done all for it that it stands in need of and that he is all unto it that it wants
his benefits who hath forgiven thee all thy sins whodoth forgive thee al thy sins he doth continually declare unto thee the forgiveness of all thine iniquities that thou mightest rejoyce before him in the forgiveness of all thy sins for he hath healed all thy diseases and he doth heal all thy diseases and he wil continually heal all thy diseases Therefore thou mayst be of good cheer O my soul for thou mayst and dost swim in rivers of pleasures for evermore Now this river is loving kindness and tender mercies whereof the soul doth drink and is abundantly satisfied and it lives in this river and shal never more thirst after sin read Psa 103.1 read the whole Psalm Now this river is God himself in which the soul doth live and refresh it self as in a fountain of life and it never needs to fear drowning read Rev. 22.1 2 3 4 5. Psa 36.7 8 9. Secondly This Fountain of Israel which is the sweet God himself is the ayr in which the soul doth live and in which the soul doth move and act and hath its being Acts 17.28 And so likewise the soul as a bird doth fly up and down in this ayr admiring of God and praising of God and chirping forth praise unto God in the midst of this heaven and thus the soul doth fly in the midst of the Heaven of God delighting it self in God where it shal abide for evermore read Rev. 14.4 5 6. Now the soul doth wind up its conclusion in giving all honor unto its original All my springs saith the soul are in thee who art the fountain of Israel which is God blessed for evermore read Psa 87.6 7. Psa 68.26 And so much with submission to better judgment about praying for a pardon for sin nay rather a praying for the manifestations of the Spirit and the evidences of the Spirit to be in my heart of that pardon which God hath had ever ready from the foundations of the world and holds it forth unto all men But I Quest saith some poor soul want the Spirits application of this pardon and if he would but keep it close unto my soul or in my soul then it would cause me to rejoyce both in life and at death But the Spirit is free to work where he wil and in whom he wil and to pass by whom he wil and who shal say Why dost thou so unto him Fifthly You are accused of saying That God sees no sin or no sin in you But how is it then that God suffers sin to come into his Creation as an accident he not creating of sin Answ Because he wil bring forth his own defign in manifesting of the glory of his free grace and making out of Christ Secondly There is no equality between Christ and sin or Christ and siners neither hath Christ any accord with sin And what agreement hath Christ the Temple of God with idols which is sin None at all 2 Cor. 6.14 15 16. God sees sin contrary unto himself therefore he appears as a consuming fire unto sin and not unto sin only but unto all created forms and beings Heb. 12.18 21 27 29. Heb. 1.10 11 12. 2 Pet. 3.10 11 12 13. And so likewise to siners that is sinful men and women in whom sin hath taken possession and is their present king Now such in their capacity look upon God as a dreadful Judg because they look out of the prison house of sin and think they most dwel with devouring fire and with everlasting burnings And thus God appears unto all that look upon him out of Christ Isai 33.14 But now on the other side Sect. 8 Those that are Baptized with the fire of the Holy Ghest this is their proper heavenly element that they live in and they are like the bush that was all on a flame of fire and was not consumed Exod. 3.2 3 4. Now this fire wil burn stubble and all maner of sinful works of men 1 Cor. 2 11 12 13. But this heavenly fire is nourishment unto that which is of it self 1 Pet. 1.5 7 8. Now these seeing God in Christ see him unchangeably good and the same yesterday and to day and the same for ever Heb. 13.8 Now God is not as sinful dark men judg him to be that is to be made up of love and hatred Fury is not in God Isa 27 4. and wrath and fury and so they stand a far off from him and say that he is an hard Master Now what a mistake is here for God is the only true Good he is loving merciful and just and sin shal not stand neer him but sin shal be bowed down and the siner whose heart is a throne for sin to be his king he shal not stand upright in the judgment of God in Christ Psa 1.4 5. Now sin doth delude a man to think that God is like unto himself read Psa 50.19 20 21. But God is of purer eyes then to behold such evil and to look on iniquity and sin and not to destroy death with his sting Habak 1.13 Heb. 2.14 15. Now I shal speak a word by way of comparison of sin coming in by way of accident and Gods design in suffering of it Now the comparison wil fal infinitly too short But suppose a curious Artificer makes a Watch very curiously but something fals out in a very short time and puts the Watch out of order and this we cal an accident and use to say there is such an accident faln out and hath put the Watch out of order and it doth nothing now but jar and it never goes right until it be taken in pieces and a second Art applied unto it and so new made up again but now if this Artificer could have prevented this accident he would not have suffered this accident to have faln out upon his Watch and spoiled it But it is not so with God for accidents are not against God Nothing done without Gods providence but for God and permited by God to be or not to be and are suffered by God and ordered by him to bring his own designs about Now an accident is in relation to men as not knowing God and so they use that word accident or luck or chance or as some grosly cal it fortune not knowing that God is neer unto that which they cal accident or luck and doth dispose of it and them as shal make most for his own glory As for instance The lying spirit was admited to go into the mouth of the Prophets of Ahab and so Ahab was deluded And so likewise the arrow was ordered that was drawn out of a bow at a venture and was directed to the joynts of the harness of the King of Israel and so he was wounded And so likewise David hasted and ran to meet the Army and put his hand in his bag and took thence a stone and slung it Now David being a type of Christ Revel 22.16 as it is writen
be as a book sealed or as a box that hath far more precious ointment in it then that of Mary Magdalen as you may read Mark 14.3 But such men want a key to open this box A literal reading of preaching Minister doth but speak empty words in the ears of people or they want heavenly art to break this box that the sweet smels of Jesus Christ may come forth into the world amongst men Such men can speak of the letter of the Word which is as a Cabinet but they can speak little or nothing of Christ in the Spirit which is the Pearl in this Cabinet and this is one reason why your hearers are so ignorant and there is so little love to God in the world and love unto our neighbors Now I shal give your hearers one Caution Sect. 4 which is this It is not enough to cal Lord Lord but to have the grace of Christ to inable them to do his wil read Luk. 6.45 46. It is not the hearing of the Common Prayer Book read nor the verbal reading of it your self A form of Prayer only taught by men doth but beat the ayr that wil profit you It may be you may hear it read and be zealous in that and pray and yet remain ignorant in what you hear and in what you pray and your understandings ful of darkness But the Apostle saith He wil pray with the light of the Spirit and that light wil enlighten his understanding that he may edifie others 1 Cor. 14.14 15. And so likewise you may learn to say over the prayers in that book The definition of prayer viz. nay it maybe say over many prayers without the book but this is not prayer herein you are mistaken for prayer consists not in length of words nor in strength of words A true and a comfortable prayer comes from the spirit of grace returns to the spirit again but in the breathings of the Spirit of God into the soul and the souls breathings back again unto God And this is that which the Apostle saith The Spirit it self maketh intercession for us or in us with groanings which cannot be uttered And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit Rom. 8.26 27. because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to the wil of God Now this grace of Christ in prayer comforts every soul that hath it and makes them able in the publick for the Kingdom and it makes them able for their families in private This grace of Christ makes those that are the Ministers of his Gospel sufficient and able in the newness of the Spirit to bring forth fruit unto God Rom. 7.4 6. Now I know that you that are readers and hearers of the Common Prayer Book and of those imitating preaching Ministers which can preach but little or nothing at all of the mystery of Christ and of the unsearchable riches of the sweet grace of Jesus Christ but they can speak pleasingly of the history of Christ and of the letter only I know now that you wil plead liberty of conscience to hear and to have this manner of reading and preaching And for my part you should have the liberty of your conscience A people delighting in a litter alministry are sotishly ignorant for the most part of them and ful of segality but I am sorry that your understandings are so dark that you are not able to discern the natural artificialness that is in some mens reading and preaching and I am grieved to see that you are not able to discern between the naturalness and the spiritualness of Ministers Some by the principles of nature can preach elegantly and use plausible words and this pleases you wel and this you cry up and magnifie But the spiritualness which some Ministers have from the Spirit of God this you cry down and say it is new light or new wine and with mockings say these men are ful of new light or with a jeer as Festus did to Paul saying Too much of this learning makes men mad And thus natural parts are advanced and true Ministers of the Gospel discountenanced as you may read Acts 2.13 15 16 17. Acts 26.24 25. 1 King 22.26 27. Mat. 27.63 Sect. 5 Now I shal speak a word in the behalf of those Ministers which are made able by the grace of the Gospel of God as Paul was such Ministers have the mystery of God manifest in the flesh revealed unto them by the spirit of God They are ful likewise of knowledg of the mystery of Christ in God and God in Christ and Christ who is God and the new man dwelling in the Saints now this is a glorious mystery read John 17.21 23 24. Eph. 4.23 24. 2 Cor. 6.16 Now such Ministers are made able by the gift of grace and the effectual working of the power of God that they may preach the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ unto a poor soul A ministry built on Christ doth administer grace to the hearts of the people now such Ministers have the secrets of the Lord revealed unto them Psa 25.14 And they do declare unto all the world the mystery which hath been hid in God from the begining of the world but now in these last times it shal be made known by the Church of Christ the manifold wisdom and love of God in his eternal purpose in Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence that we shal be filled with all the fulness of God And thus the true Ministers of Christ are furnished from God to speak the things of God Evangelically and to speak spiritually what they hear and see of Jesus Christ and this you may read at large Eph. 3.3 the whole Chapter And so likewise every poor member of Christ is compleat in Christ For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head bodily and of his fulness have all we received and grace for grace Col. 2.9 10. Joh. 1.16 17. Now if the Lord would be pleased to let this grace come down from above as an overflowing stream of love into our Land it would heal our breaches it would move the Kings heart to be easie to be intreated by the Parliament for the good and peace of his subjects that they might enjoy their own with quietness and the freedom of free subjects though he as a King lost something which is his own to purchase peace for his people and then he would be as a nursing Father unto his people which I desire to see all this a tender-hearted father doth for the good of his child he wil part with much of his own because he loves his child And this grace must move the Parliament if they be like unto a tender-hearted father Now those that are like unto a tender father If they see any one lie under a burden though it be but light they go speedily they make no delays in taking off
I say such a soul cannot leave such delicate spiritual food to come to Martha Such a lively Christian man or woman cannot leave Jesus Christ to come serve with Martha neither doth Jesus bid Mary go and help Martha to serve And this is worth your noting Luk. 10.40 41. Now in the second place Sect. 8 One Christian may have greater discoveries of Christ then another and yet the one and the other may at some times speak both ignorantly and carnally concerning Christ as Martha and Mary did Martha comes and saith Lord if thou hadst been here my brother had not dyed and so saith Mary too Now this is according to the customary and verbal discourse which we have of Christ now in our days we think Christ and God are far off in the time of our troubles Christ indeed with his humane body cannot be in two places together at one time and then we begin to say as Martha said Lord if thou hadst been here my brother had not dyed but thou wast not here Now this is a carnal and a fleshly knowledg of Jesus Christ as for instance One man may know another by sight but one man cannot see another mans spirit even so Martha did see and know Jesus Christ by sight and by sense as the most professors do now in our days they know Jesus Christ by hear-say and by sense natural Now the spirit of a man cannot be seen because it is not visible to natural sight but there is a sight and a light which doth see Jesus Christ spiritually A note of great concernment and more then a man it sees the Spirit of Jesus Christ which is God for God is a Spirit Joh. 4.24 James 1.17 It sees the Father of spirits which is God this sight sees this one God the Father of Christ and of all The sight of Faith is the only sight to see God in the man Christ doing all the great works in Christ and by Christ as Christ himself speaks as you may read John 14.10 11. And this sight Moses had for Moses saw him who is invisible read Heb. 11.27 Now the Evangelical man the spiritual man the new man the man in Christ is taught and acted by the Father of spirits to see Christ in the Spirit which is God manifesting himself in the flesh and taking up the humane body of Christ and the Saints to be an habitation for him to dwel in with all the fulness of the God-head Col. 2.9 10. Now this God doth manifest himself in the flesh of men and as a seed lies hid in the earthiness of mens hearts but in his own time he breaks through and unlooses the pains of death and carries his beleeving ones up into glory and this is a spiritual mystery as you may read 1 Tim. 3.16 1 Joh. 3.9 Act. 2.24 Now he that is Alpha and Omega Sect. 9 the first and the last and the King eternal and the immortal and only wise God this God puts himself under many names and makes himself both Lord and Christ and Jesus read Acts 2.36 And this is for us to distinguish that we may see his love and his power Revel 1.11 1 Tim. 1.17 Now God as a Father speaks forth a word of power and good wil for men now this word of God was clothed with flesh or made flesh as a man Joh. 1.13 14. And this God is in man making one perfect man Christ the head and true Beleevers as members answerable to their head Christ Mat. 5.48 Colos 1.17 18. Now this word which was spoken from the heart of God Christ is the living Word of God becomes our Christ for his name is called the Word of God and the wisdom and power of God and in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledg Rev. 19.12 13. 1 Cor. 1.24 Colos 2.3 Now God comes and brings forth himself under the name of Jesus To save his people from their sins Matth. 1.21 And those that see Christ as God see him mighty and able to save them they do not say as Martha said Lord if thou hadst been here my brother had not dyed No God in Christ and both in the flâ—sh making one new man this is a great mystery read Eph. 2.15 they see God in Christ ever present to save them to the uttermost and they see Christ as God offering up himself by his own eternal Spirit as a sacrifice without fault to purge and to purchase his Church with his own blood Heb. 7.25 26. Heb. 9.14 Acts 20.28 And this is the good wil of our good God He comes down from his Throne to behold what is amiss nay he goeth into the dust of the earth to raise up the poor and lifteth the needy out of the dunghil this is the good pleasure of our God Psal 113.6 7 8. Now the design of God is to bring forth himself and his Christ to suffer both together for faln man and this in general Now you object and say Object it is impossible that God should suffer I answer Answ sin and faln man did what they could to make God suffer Instance As for instance The Sun shines upon a tree and a man stands with an ax and hews through the shining of the Sun and cuts the tree in pieces cuts Christ in pieces but the shining of the Sun is not capable of being cut God cannot be cut with an ax or thrust through with a spear but Christ was and so went into the grave But mark now for your comfort God goes along with Christ God was with Christ in the grave for thy comfort O poor soul for God and Christ are one John 10.29 30. God goes in Christ before the chief Priests and before Pontius Pilate and so to the Cross and there he was jeered and he went with Christ from the Cross into the grave and raised him out of the grave God never left Christ alone though Christ said My God forsake me not yet Christ said God heard him always read John 16.32 Iohn 11.42 Now all this was done unto Jesus Christ by the determinate counsel of God to redeem faln man and this is the good wil of our God Acts 2.22 23. 4.26 27 28. Now Christ himself doth confirm what I have said Sect. 10 in his speech to Pilate Pilate said unto Christ knowest not thou that I have power to crucifie thee and have power to release thee Jesus answered thou couldest have no power at all against me except it were given thee from above And thus a true beleever in Christ and with Christ saith As God ordered and disposed of all the sufferings of Christ even so are all my troubles and crosses burthens and temptations ordered and designed from above as they were to Christ as you may read Iohn 19.10 11. And God stands by and looks upon the proud and disdainful behavior of one neighbor towards another read Psal 35.19 20. 2. Notes in particular Christ
What is an hours discourse though never so learned if God do not teach the Minister to speak spiritually God is come into the hearts of men with large and spiritual appearances I hope neither the learned nor the unlearned wil jeer me for using these expressions For by the light of these appearances God wil dis-throne Antichrist which is very much amongst us and this light wil expel all that which seems to be light and is but darkness and God wil set up his own true Christ which is himself and God alone wil be the light of men The Lord is my light saith David Psa 27.1 Sect. 7 Now the worldly wise men are much displeased with these spiritual appearances for it throws down their wisdom because it is fleshly and carnal The wisdom of the flesh charges the wisdom of God with folly and madness and saith it doth infect the world and therefore they take no delight in it they see no beauty in it why they should desire it But when the Spirit comes into the heart of a man and maketh his appearances then this sweet Spirit which is God who is Alpha and Omega and comes and doth the office of the third person and so he is the first and the last and so the poor soul is even at rest in the bosom of God Rev. 1.10 11 12. And there it is taught all truths by the Spirit who is God and the Spirit shews the soul glorious things to come and the Spirit makes Jesus Christ very glorious in the eyes of the soul and here the soul sees Christ and the Spirit and God the Father One and all that the Father hath is Christs and all that Christ hath is a Christians and Christ and a Christian are Gods Iohn 16.13 14 15. 1 Cor. 3.22 23. Now when God doth make these glorious appearances in our flesh then he doth teach us to justifie him in his spiritual appearances and to see him as wel as the Angels for we see by Faith the mystery of Christ and his Church which things the Angels desire to look into 1 Pet. 1.11 12 13. And we speak of this mystery unto men and it is beleeved by some men in the world and as Christ is received up into glory so he wil bring down his glorious wisdom and holiness into the hearts of his people And as Christ is wisdom even so he makes his children wise that they may justifie him who is wisdom it self for wisdom is justified of her children 1 Tim. 3.16 Luke 7.34 35. Now it is plain to prove that there is but one God and Father of all in all his appearances and through all the appearances which have been spoken of as Jesus Christ our Lord therefore we shal be inabled to keep the unity of the Spirit and to be at peace with God for there is but one body and one Spirit one Lord Iesus Christ who is the one God and he is first and last the beginning and the ending of all things saith the Lord Which is and which was and which is to come the Almighty Rev. 1.7 8. And there is but one true Faith which is in him and by him and from him which is the blessed God Acts 26.18 And there is but one true Baptism which is from him and by him and of him who is the only wise God and our good God Now this one Baptism made Iohn rejoyce and his joy was exceeding ful because of Christ which is the souls bridegroom Luke 3.16 17. Iohn 3.29 30. Sect. 8 Now this one sweet and blessed God is the Father of all and every thing that is good doth proceed and come out from him He is the original of all good He is the first cause of all good to the creature He is all in himself and to himself He is all to the soul and he is all in the poor soul He is all in all his appearances He is the Father of all and above all and through all and in you all read Eph. 4.3 4 5 6. Now it is as plain to prove that this one God did and doth come under all these appearances To us a Child is born to us a Son is given and the government shal be upon his shoulders and his name shal be called wonderful counsellor the mighty God the everlasting Father the Prince of peace God wil renew the heart of a man or woman make it as a chaste Virgin to bear Christ in the spirit as wel as the Virgin Mary did bear Christ in the flesh Now here is one and all and all and yet but one read Isa 9.6 And so likewise Behold a Virgin shal be with Child and shal bring forth a Son Now it is meant thy heart O man or woman shal be a Virgin to bear this Child as wel as the Virgin Mary And when God doth appear as the holy Child Iesus in a man then man doth begin to be happy and the name of this Child shal be called Emmanuel which being spiritually interpreted is God with us or God in us Mat. 1.20 21 22 23. Isa 7.14 Who is like unto the Lord our God who dwelleth on high who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth God comes down into every low condition to comfort a poor soul in high places and in low places Our God comes down into every low condition Is not this a great comfort for the poor souls of men He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghil This is the good wil of our good God He leaves no contemptible place unsought to find out his people though it be in a dunghil He was with Iob upon the dunghil that he might set him and all his poor despised people as Princes even with the Princes of his people Psa 113.5 6 7 8. O the wonderful greatness of our God that hath made his Christ and given him to be the head over all things to the Church O the wonderful wisdom and endless mercy of our God who hath fited his Church to be his own body in Christ Christ being the head O what a sweet harmony and agreement there is between the head Christ and his members O poor drouping soul Sect. 9 lift up thine eyes A note of great comfort to a poor soul and behold thy God who is thy head from which all the body by joynts and bands having nourishment ministred and knit together increaseth with the increase of God Col. 2.19 And now poor soul thou art so fitly framed together and so compleat in Christ that thou art become an holy Temple in the Lord In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit Eph. 2.21 22. Col. 2.9 10. Now when God doth teach a poor soul to live upon this it wil be as the lifting up the head above all waters above all temptations above all reproaches of men and above all
Ordination ibid. That all men in the Church of God have liberty to exercise p. 159. A word touching Order p. 160. Who are and what the true Ministers of Christ must expect of men p. 161 § 5. That the Apostles order cannot be observed in our parish Churches without offence p. 161 162. The good gift of God to men in the Church is Jesus Christ p. 162. The Scriptures as a box of ointment are full of Christ p. 164. That this Author was a hearer of Mr Edwards p. 165. A vindication of some reproached by Mr Edwards p. 166. The Author no Sectary p. 166 167. That the Religion of most is but traditional p. 167. That there is much form and little power of Religion in these days 168 The Ministers that are for persecution put to silence by an argument of their own p. 169. Many Citizens reprehended for changing their Common-Councel men p. 170 171. The corruption of the several Wards and Parishes p. 172. Doctor Bastwick reprehended p. 172. That old preachers are not always the best p. 174. § 6. That as Christ proceedeth and cometh forth from God so doth a true Christian proceed and come forth from Jesus Christ p. 175. § 7. Who the silly women be that are lead captive p. 177. Three characters by which to know the false Prophets of this age p. 178 179. CHAP. VII THe Scriptures insisted on set down page 180 181. § 1. A word in season to two sorts of Elders p. 182. Bad Elders like unto a bad Nurse p. ibid. He that is an Elder in Jesus Christ is a good Elder p. 183. The fleshly Elder fills the ear but feeds not the heart p. 184. 'T were to be wisht that the Elders had the gift of discerning spirits p. 185. Vnder what delusion the Papists are p. 186. § 2. How the Protestants resemble the Papists p. 186. That a Synod or Councel may erre p. 186 187. How far Antichrist hath crept in among us in England p. 188. How difficult it is to get right Cedars in a parish to build a Church on p. 190. The superstition of the common Protestant p. 191. From whence the ignorance of the people doth arise p. 192. Why 't is so hard a thing to get and keep a good preacher in a parish p. 193. How few men will stand when Christ appears p. 194. Why all things are out of course both in Church and State p. 194. § 3. The fountain from whence the true and the right Elders do proceed p. 195. The fountain of Israel and the welspring of learning is God himself in Christ p. 196. That many men have but grosly abuse school Arts and humane learning p. 197. The way to God few men know p. 198. Humane learning and School Arts grow in Natures gardens p. 199. § 5. Of right and good Elders 200 How the hireling and the true shepherd differ p. 201 202. What all things are without the Spirit 204. CHAP. VIII THe Scriptures insisted on set down p. 204 205. § 1. A cordial Petition for our sickly times p. 208 209. A vindication of those called by the foolish name of Independents 210 § 3. Ten Independents drawn up into a file 1. the Devil 2. Judas 3. the cheif Priest 4. the Pharisee 5. Cain 6. Pilate 7. the young man in the Gospel 8. Dives or the rich man Luke 12.9 9 Adam 10. Eve p. 211 212 213. How Christs lodged himself in Davids heart p. 214. How Christ is a crucifying in his members all Europe over p. 215. Vpon whom the Independents have their dependency p. 216. § 4. Whence 't is honest men are called Sectaries p. 216 217. Mr Nye falsly reputed a Jesuite by some p. 218. A Rhyme to reproach the Independents taxed p. 219. The ten heads under which Mr Edwards ranks the Independents or Sectaries 219 220. R. B. THE CONTENTS Of this BOOK Being the second Part Directing to the Chapters Sections and Pages where they are spoken to § 5. THe love of God and the blood of Jesus Christ are a soveraign medicine to take away sin past present and to come p. 221. What alone is able to quench the flames of hell in any mans soul 222 The fit man that undertakes with God for man p. 223. How unjustly men are charged with the name of Antinomian p. 224. The person of Dr Crisp and several other men instanc't in 224 225 226 A word of Mr Burgess at Lawrence Church p. 225. The pretended Law-defenders the greatest Law-breakers p. 228. § 6. A word of Mr Calamy p. 229. The filthy names on foot in these times the cause of much evil p. 231. That Christ is the rule of a Christian p. 232. A sweet prayer to the Father Son and holy Spirit opening that mystery p. 234. An excellent simile opening the mystery of Christ p. 235. Whence the Christians comfort doth arise even from the anointing of the Father p. 236. § 7. That the heart of a true Christian is the City of God and the consolations of the Spirit the river that runs thorough it p. 237. § 8. Christ a spiritual tree rooted in God of which the Saints are branches p. 238. How Christ led Philip and every one that beleeves through himself to the Father p. 239. That the Spirit of Christ is God 240. That a Christian is not in Christ after a carnal manner p. 241. Why a Christian weeps as Mary by the ordinances when handled after a carnal manner p. 242. An excellent advice to a troubled soul p. ibid. § 9. A true preacher what he is ib. The Spirit of Christ the Saints resting place p. 243. The Saints life what it is ibid. That the Saints cannot live as they list p. 244. That they that beleeve work from and not for life p. ibid. The Apologie they that beleeve make for themselves p. 245. What is the pardon of sin p. 246. The condition of a man in trouble about the pardon of sin p. 247. What is the refreshing of a weary soul p. ibid. Davids Prayer Psa 51. opened 248. The great business of assurance spoken to p. 249. An objection touching general Redemption and free will p. 250. Where the Church is to be found 251. What is free will in man p. 252. Who alone hath free will p. 253. CHAP. IX THe Scriptures opened set down P. 255. § 1. By what a man is encouraged first to come to God p. 256 257. Touching a particular assurance some objections opened p. 258. § 2. Christ the day in which every true Christian abides for ever 261. § 3. How Christ opens himself in the heart of a true beleever 262 263. How Christ vindicates a Christian from the slander of men p. 264. § 4. Christ hath done all for and doth all in the soul p. 265. How God sees no sin in his p. 266. What was the better part of which Christ spake p. ibid. Of the Cross of Christ in the heart of a Christian p. 267. How the soul
a comparison of the Pharisee and of the outside Christian which I shal make good by four places of Scripture And the first place of Scripture is in Mark 11.13 concerning the Fig-tree And Christ seeing a fig-tree afar off having leaves he came if haply he might find any thing thereon and when he came to it he found nothing but leaves Here are three things remarkable with relation to a Pharisee or an outside Christian The first is Christ sees a Pharisee afar off he sees into their hearts he sees them proud afar off he tels them they are as graves ful of rottenness Luk 11.42 43 44. Secondly Christ comes to the Pharisees and they reject him Joh. 11.47 48 53. and took counsel together to put Christ to death Thirdly Christ finds nothing in a Pharisee but leaves and these leaves are not for the healing of the Nations as is spoken of in Rev. 22.2 But rather a bringing in of judgment and a wounding of a Nation as Adam and Eve did by seeking themselves in eating the forbidden fruit they brought sin upon the Nations of the world and so became naked and they sewed fig-leaves together to hide their nakednes Gen. 3.7 And this is the Pharisee's way But I wil shew you a more excellent way The Lord God himself made coats of skins for Adam and Eve and covered their nakedness and in his goodness said The seed of the woman meaning Christ should spread his skirt of love over them and cover their spiritual nakedness Gen. 3.15 21. Ezek. 16.8 And thus much shal serve by way of comparing the Pharisee to the Fig-tree that had leaves but no fruit for Christ The second comparison that I shal make of the Pharisees is this They are like to those Soldiers that led Christ away to crucifie him and after they had done then they did strive for his garments Mark 15.16 24. The Pharisees caused Christ to be put to death and I beleeve that there are Pharisees now that though they cannot reach the person of Christ yet they can reach the members of Christ to kil them in their outward comforts and in their good name and in reproaching of them for if they have done so to the green tree what wil they do to the dry tree and if they have put Christ to death they wil proceed to put Lazarus to death also Joh. 12.9 10 11. And yet they wil strive for Christs garments I mean they wil strive for the ordinances of Christ and seem to take delight in them as a man doth in his garments as you may plainly read in Isa 58.2 And yet they are like dying men whose garments can neither warm them nor keep life in them If Jesus Christ be not the life and the heat in all his ordinances though you lap your selves about with them as with a garment yet you may perish for want of heat for it is the Spirit of Christ that gives forth heat and makes men lively It is the Spirit that quickneth saith Christ the letter profiteth nothing Joh. 6.63 Jesus Christ tels the Pharisees that they are miserable and naked Rev. 3.17 No say the Pharisees for we have the ordinances of God and our duties and these are as garments to cover our nakedness Now this is a strain of spirit that doth rest upon most people and Ministers as one may hear in these expressions Since we have begun these morning Exercises saith one God hath given us in 70 victories but mark what the Lord saith these victories be but the effects therefore ascribe not too much to your prayers but consider the cause Not for your sakes O house of Israel nor for your prayers be it known unto you but for mine holy Names sake are these victories given unto you Ezek. 36.22 Yet I wil be sought unto saith the Lord. O! Sect. 3 it is a sweet thing to pray when the Spirit of Jesus Christ teacheth and helpeth us to pray then we shal set the Crown of praise upon the head of Christ alone for the Spirit it self helpeth us so to do Rom. 8.26 But it is a bad thing to set the crown of praise upon the head of our prayers and performances O that we could do our duties out of love to Christ alone and then take our hearts and our hands off from them and have our eyes fixed upon Christ alone and not upon our duties for why should we be like the Hen that when she hath done her duty she tels all about her Simile The Pharisee seemeth to be much for the praise of God yet hath but little or no acquaintance with Jesus Christ Give God the praise saith the Pharisee to the blind man that was cured and as for this Follow meaning Jesus Christ we know not from whence he is Joh. 9.24 29. A Pharisee doth not really know Jesus Christ therefore he doth carnally complement with Christ Iesus Good Master saith the Pharisee what shal I do that I may get heaven Why saith Christ thou knowest the Commandments and yet thou canst not spel my Name in them therefore thou art miserable poor and naked No saith the Pharisee I am not so for I have observed all those Commands that thou didst bid me from my youth to this day Wel saith Christ I see into thy heart and that is not right to me for all that thou hast done Mark 10.17 18 19 20 21. And this web saith Christ which thou dost trust unto shal be as a spiders web and shal not cover thy nakedness and this staff which thou dost lean upon shal be as the spiders house But it shal not stand though thou shalt hold it fast it shal not endure Job 8.13 14 15. Though a Pharisee seem to come to Christ yet at the same time he doth thrust Jesus Christ away from him Now the third comparison Sect. 4 that I shal make of the Pharisee or outside Christian is this Now a Pharisee is like unto a Papist in two things The first is this A Pharisee is one that seems to worship God zealously but hath no knowledg of Iesus Christ I bear them record saith the Apostle that they have a zeal of God but not of Christ Rom. 10.2 3. and so they are ignorant of the true way which God wil be worshiped in which true way is Iesus Christ Joh. 14.6 I am the Way and the Truth saith our Savior And God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him or inables such and then they worship him spiritually in Christ Iesus Joh. 4.23 24. Search the Scriptures saith our Savior to the Pharisees for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they testifie of me And ye wil not come to me that ye might have life Now a Pharisee or an outside Christian searches the Scriptures as a Papist searches his beads by number and by tale and when they have done they
mistake not your self in the application of these few lines for these are perilous times for some indeed preach Christ out of envy and strife and those that preach Christ thus have it by Art and not by Grace Phil. 1.15 16. And thus a natural carnal man may preach Christ having the common gifts of the Spirit which are common to all men as the Arts and the Tongues which may be learned at Oxford and then the help of a great Library and a good pen and sit at it all the week and then a good memory and then a fluent tongue then such a man may talk of Christ an hour or two together but I suppose this is not preaching if it be we have great store of it now in our days And those men that so preach are subject to speak evil of those that preach Christ out of good wil To preach Christ out of good wil is a saving gift And such men cannot but speak the things which they have seen and heard Acts 4.20 Now true preaching is to beleeve We having the same spirit of faith saith the Apostle therefore we speak 2 Cor. 4.13 though we be evil spoken of and upbraided with new doctrine and with a new light M. Edwards are not you guilty of this clamor and I fear others besides you are But I remember a caution that the Apostle gave to the Philippians Beware of evil workers saith he who boast of the letter and of the outsides of Religion and yet are enemies to Christ for they mind earthly things Phil. 3.2 18 19. as profit and preeminence M. Edwards I pray you be not like unto Diotrephes who loveth to have the preeminence among them receiveth us not saith the Apostle But when I come saith the Apostle I wil remember his deeds which he doth prating against us with malicious words and not content therewith neither doth he himself receive the brethren but speaketh evil of them and forbiddeth them that would receive them and casteth them out of the Church read 3. Epistle of Joh. 9 10 11. M. Edwards I shal take leave of you now I shal speak of you again only I shal present you with two cautions The first is Follow not that which is evil and take not up a reproach against your neighbor to do him harm Psa 15.3 The second is Take heed that the light which is in you be not darkness Luke 11.35 CHAP. IV. The Spiritual Opening and Application of these Scriptures VIZ. Rev. 2.17.2.2 Cant. 2.8 John 10.4 5 27. 1 Cor. 2.10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Ioh. 14.10 11 Ioh. 17.21 22 23 14. Eph. 1.3 c. Lu. 7.44 c. Psa 1.2 Psa 66.16 1 Pet. 2.5 Joh. 2.20 27. Act. 2.17 18. Joel 2.28 2 Tim. 3.15 16 17. Joh. 3.2 3 4. Mat. 21.16 Psa 8.2 1 Thes 5.21 1 Joh. 4.1 Col. 4.17 Gal. 5.1 2 Cor. 11.19 20. Colos 2.18 19. 1 Pet. 5.2 1 Cor. 5.4 12 13. Mat. 18.17 1 Cor. 5.13 Mark 9.35 1 Cor. 7.23 Prov. 6.16 19. Rom. 14.5.23 1 Thes 2.7 8. 2 Cor. 1.24 Act. 15.5 10. Joh. 11.47 48. Luke 22.24 25 26. Iohn 13.15 1 Pet. 5.1 2 3. Psal 133.1 2. Gen. 13.8 Isa 49.15 16. Ier. 32.40 41. Gen. 42.36 Acts 27.22 23 24. Eph. 5.32 Gen. 30.27 Gen. 37.19 20 21 22. Gen. 42.21 22. Gen. 45.3 4 5. Gen. 50.20 Gen. 45.27 28. Mat. 23.24 25. Luke 17.20 Mat. 23.23 Ier. 7.4 Mat. 25.8 10 11 12. Gen. 45.24 1 Thes 5.21 1 Pet. 4.10 11. 1 Cor. 6.5 6. Mat. 15.14 Isaiah 2.2 3 4 5. Matthew 10.9 10. Luke 10.4 5 6 7 8. Matthew 6.31 32 33 34. Luke 22.22 25 26. Matthew 26.47 48 49 50. Luke 11.45 46 52 53 54. Matthew 26.3 4. Ephesians 4.22 Psalm 31.11 13. Psalm 35.13 14 15 16 19 20. Acts 14.22 Luke 18.9 Iohn 8.41 42. Iohn 9.16 29. Iohn 2.3.11.47 43. Iohn 12.10 11 19. THere is great contending Sect. 1 now in our days how one should know who are the true Ministers of the Gospel Ans But they who have an ear to hear what the Spirit of God saith unto the Churches Rev. 2.17 are inabled by the spirit of Christ in some measure to try them which say they are Apostles and are not and have found them lyars Rev. 2.2 The Church of Christ only knows the voyce of Christ It is the voyce of my beloved saith the Spouse Cant. 2.8 My sheep hear my voyce saith Christ and a stranger they wil not follow for they know not the voyce of strangers and wil flee from them Iohn 10.4 5 27. Here is the report that Christ gives of his sheep which holds forth a sufficiency in them by his holy Spirit to try the messages that the messengers or ministers of the Gospel do bring unto them and that by a divine authority Now here wil arise an Objection and that is this Object Can an unlearned man try the Doctrine of a learned man Ans Sol. Yes for the doctrine of Christ is spiritual though it may be delivered literally or in the letter and so it may be as a Cabinet sealed up to him that carries it or delivers it But an unlearned man may have and hath the key of David that is the Spirit of God to teach him the mystery when the learned man may have but the history There is no man in the world though never so learned so able as the Saints are Are true Beleevers to give out the spiritual meaning of the Word of God It is true indeed learned men may take up the Truth as other men lay it down and so they may talk of it But the beleeving man Sect. 2 the new man he is the only man for he hath the Truth and he can declare the Truth for the Spirit of God doth teach him read 1 Cor. 2.10 11 12 13 14 15 16. The beleeving man is the only man for these Reasons The first is God is in Christ Joh. 14.10 11. The second is Christ and God is in every true Beleever I in them and thou in me saith Jesus Christ Joh. 17.21 22 23 24. The third is Every true beleeving man and woman were in Christ before the world was and as soon as they came into the world they went astray and then were accepted again in the beloved that is in Christ they have Redemption through his blood the forgiveness of all their sins at once and not by peece-meal and this is to the glory of free grace O there is nothing in the world that can cleanse the world of taking liberty to sin but only free grace read Eph. 1.3 4 5 6 7 8. A great sinner once made a true beleever such a man and woman is the only man and woman that can magnifie free grace Mary Magdalen a great sinner was overcome by the free grace of God in Christ and then she washed Christs feet with tears and kissed his feet and anointed them Free grace begets much love Luk. 7.44 45 46 47. And so Paul a
great sinner Blessed saith he be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Christ is a Saints spiritual magazine for free grace but if I speak of the things I shal have the name of Independent or Antinomian put upon me which is to me a smal thing In the next place Sect. 3 a true Beleever is the only thankful man Blessed be God saith Paul for his free grace Secondly The man in Christ is the most able of all men for to try the doctrines that men bring whether they be of God or no for a man in Christ is blessed with spiritual blessings in Christ and he tries the doctrines of men whether there be any spirituality in them or no because he himself is exercised therein day and night Psa 1.2 Thirdly A true Beleever in Christ is able to declare the truth to others and that out of experience Come saith David I wil tel you what God hath done for my soul or in my soul Psa 66.16 Here you may see the ability and the authority of the members of Christ which is the Church of Christ Now for the abilities of the Saints there are degrees some more able to try the doctrines of men and some less able and so some are more able to declare the truths of God to others and some are less able as it pleaseth God to bestow his gifts to men Now the reason or ground why or how they come to be thus able Ans They are built upon Christ a spiritual house an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ read 1 Pet. 2.5 And so likewise they have that unction from the holy One that is from God in Christ and that abideth in them and teacheth them above all the teaching of men read 1 Joh. 2.20 27. and by that they come to know the mind of God in Christ 1 Cor. 2.16 And so it comes to pass now in our days that there is a beginning to fulfil the promise which hath been spoken of long ago I wil saith God in the last days pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh and your young men and your maidens shal be able to declare the Truths of Jesus Christ to all that are about them Act. 2.17 18. Joel 2.28 It may be to more profit then those that are called their Teachers and at this the world is angry and says that boys and girles now adays are become wiser then their Teachers It pleased God to instruct Timothy from a child to know the holy Scriptures and to know the mind of God in Christ therein 2 Tim. 3.15 16 17. when the old zealous Nicodemus's know but little of God and nothing of Christ though they have the holy Scriptures before them read Ioh. 3.2 3 4. But out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God doth perfect his praise and they for the most part speak so as though they had by experience tasted of the sweetness of the grace of God in Christ read Mat. 21.16 Psa 8.2 Now by these few lines you may take notice That none but those that know the voyce of Christ whether young or old are able to try the doctrines of those that say they are the Ministers of the Gospel Secondly All those that are thus inabled have a divine right and authority to try the doctrines of men The Church hath liberty from God to try their Officers before they trust them Prove all things hold fast that which is good 1 Thes 5.21 Secondly Beleeve not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God because many false Prophets are gone out into the world 1 John Chap. 4. Vers 1. Thirdly The Church ought to admonish their Pastor and their Officers for the shepherd may err as wel as the sheep may go astray Therefore saith the Apostle to the Church of the Colossians Bid Archippus take heed to his ministry Col. 4.17 I shal now in the next place Sect. 4 crave leave to speak a word or two for the liberty of the subjects of the Kingdom of Christ I mean the Church of Christ which doth consist of beleeving men women I desire that they did know the liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free then they would not gladly suffer men to bring them into bondage and devour them then they would not be glad of men that do exalt themselves and so intangle them with a yoke of bondage but you that beleeve stand fast in the liberty of Christ and for the liberty of Christ with meekness of spirit Gal. 5.1 2 Cor. 11.19 20. And beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit and let no man beguile you of your liberty nor of any part of it but hold fast Christ your head from which all the body by joynts and bands having nourishment ministred and knit together increaseth with the increase of God Col. 2.8 18 19. And consider those that you have given power to rule amongst you I mean your Ministers and your Church-Officers for they are as servants to the Church but it is an honorable service if they rule wel but beware they do not rule over you with constraint read 1 Pet. 5.2 and with a vast and unlimited power and then put the name of Divine Right upon it and so by that means they come to over-power the Church which called them only to advise The Ministers and Church Officers have not power as of themselves but the Church giveth them power and hath power over them even to put them out from amongst them if they walk disorderly as some in our days have done When ye are come together saith the Apostle to the Church of the Corinthians put away from among your selves that wicked person and if that wicked person then by the same power the Church may put away from among them either Minister or Church-Officers if they walk contrary to sound doctrine 1 Cor. 5.4 12 13. The Bishops of late memory pleaded a Divine Right for what they did and so they made fools of men and women they made fools of women in causing them to come covered with white vails through the streets to be churched as they cal it and they made fools both of young men and of old in making them to sit bare-headed an hour or two together to hear their divine Service as they cal it and they durst not be covered in their unsanctified presence And so likewise they made fools both of men and women in compelling them to come up to the Rails and to fal down upon their knees to receive the Sacrament and this they did for decency and for uniformity as they said and so they made fools of the poor that some of them were fain to sel their pot to them their tithes And is this Divinity Here you may see how these men were subject to err Sect. 5 and are not we
comfortably unto them in their great distress when they were at their wits end then Joseph spake unâ—â— his brethren and said I am Joseph doth my father yet live Come neer to me notwithstanding ye put me away in your hatred but come neer unto my love Come neer to me I pray you and they came neer and he said I am Joseph your brother whom ye foolishly sold into Egypt be not grieved nor angry with your selves that ye sold me hither for ye thought evil against me but God meant it unto good for God did send me before you to preserve life Gen. 45.3 4 5. Gen. 50.20 The spiritual application of what hath been said Sect. 8 is betwixt Christ and a poor soul and if this were wel taught and wel learned it would mitigate that heat of strife that is amongst us and then we should observe that new Command which Christ gave That we should love one another Now I shal refer you unto that place of Scripture which Joseph gave unto his brethren for their advice and he said unto them See that you fal not out by the way for ye be brethren You may travel from Egypt to Canaan now with joy for I have freed you from all your fears see now that you fal not out by the way Consider Jesus Christ the spiritual Joseph who hath delivered you from spiritual Egypt and doth give you spiritual joy that you may travel to the heavenly Canaan and wil you yet fal out by the way Again consider Jesus Christ as he is a Prince of peace and of his peace there shal be no end Christ is our spiritual Joseph and our elder brother and hath left this Word Go tel my brethren that I ascend to my Father and their Father to my God and their God and I wil prepare a place for them and they all shal be where I am A Prayer O sweet Jesus shal thy people be with thee who art the Prince of peace and live with thee in heaven O Lord make this a lively motive to all thy people that as they shal live in heaven together so they may live in love and be at peace on earth together though they cannot agree about circumstances if the Lord would be pleased to enlarge our hearts then we should by his strength run the way of his new command which is love Love one another Lord do thou teach us and help us that we may not fal out about the way to Canaan but we pray thee plane us into Jesus Christ who alone is the new and the living way and gave unto us such a spirit as Jacob had when he did see the wagons of Josephs love then his spirit was revived and he said It is enough Joseph my son is yet alive Genesis 45.27 28. When our spirits are a dying then to have news from Jesus Christ would be a reviving to our spirits and we shal say as Jacob said It is enough my son Joseph is alive It is enough my friend Jesus Christ is alive and doth send good news to my soul and I shal go and live with him To conclude We should not rest in making clean the outside of the cup and of the platter Mat. 23.25 For the kingdom of God cometh not with observation or with outward shew Luk. 17.20 Neither let us take content in tithe-mint and anise and cummin when we are ignorant of the weightier matters of the Law as Judgment Mercy and Faith Mat. 23.23 And so it wil be for our shame and loss if we take the shadow for the substance and say The Temple of the Lord are these Jer. 7.4 and so be like unto the five foolish Virgins whose lamps were out and their oyl was spent and they went from Christ to buy grace when as indeed they should have come to Christ but in not coming they missed of Jesus Christ Mat. 25.8 10 11 12. Yet let us not fal out by the way as we are traveling through the wilderness of this world but let us admonish one another in love and think upon Josephs advice to his brethren when they were to travel from Egypt to Canaan to their father saith Joseph Ye be brethren see that ye fal not out by the way Gen. 45.24 Sect. 9 I shal now crave leave to speak a word or two betwixt the Minister and the People but with submission to better judgments for what I have said or shal say 1. We are not now to expect Prophets and Apostles to pen new Scripture Secondly We are now to look for men gifted to open the mind and meaning of God in the Scriptures which were written for our learning Thirdly We are not to take upon trust what men do deliver because God doth command us to try that which men do deliver whether it be from God or no 1 Thes 5.21 1 Ioh. 4.1 Fourthly Now we have no infallible men as the Prophets and the Apostles were therefore we should do as the noble Bereans did search the Scriptures to see whether those men that preach preach according to the Scripture or no Acts 17.10 11. But it may be you wil object and say Is there any that can infallibly search the Scriptures and so be able to try others I answer Christ hath given gifts unto men to try as wel as to teach and it is his command to try Try all things hold fast that which is good 1 Thes 5.21 But it wil be counted a boldness in a man that dwels in a Parish to try the Minister or the Church-Officers but the Church may cal them to account I mean the whole Parish or a select Congregation may cal their Officers to account for they are but as Stewards to the Church I shal conclude with that of the Apostle Peter As every man saith he hath received the gift even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God And if any man speak let him speak as from the Lord and if any man minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that God in all things may be glorified through Iesus Christ 1 Pet. 4.10 11. There hath been much said Sect. 10 of late about the power of the Church and that this power doth belong and that by Divine Right unto the Officers of the Church and to them only and something hath been writ to that purpose by him that answered the Queries that the Parliament set out but not for him to answer neither did he answer them though he said he did But I reason thus If all the power be in the Church-Officers and the keys be given unto them where shal the body which is the Church whereof these Officers be members find relief in case they should oppress or be found faulty for they are but men and the Shepherd may err as wel as the sheep may go astray as for instance the Bishops said they were the Church and every superstitious Priest in a parish
of God the Father and the unspeakable and sweet comforts of the holy Ghost and that in a spiritual way in all the ordinances they do not nor cannot lean upon the outside of any ordinance A true Beleever sees within the vail and sees the most holy of all Mine eyes saith old Simeon have seen thy salvation O Lord Luk. 2.29 30. A Saint sees Christ in the Spirit though he be vailed with flesh A true Beleever sits down at the table with Christ who is the King of this banquet and there is friendly discourse between Christ and a poor soul A poor soul sits down under the shadow of Christ with great delight and the graces of Christ are sweet to my tast saith the poor foul Cant. 2.3 4 5 6. Now Christ answers the poor soul again and saith Thy graces smel sweeter that I have given thee then the ointments of all spices Cant. 4.8 9 10. Now a beleeving soul is married to God and Christ and doth confess all her sufficiency is from God and from Christ While the King siteth at his table saith the poor soul my spikenard sendeth forth the smel thereof that is while Christ is in the soul to act those graces that he hath given into the soul so long those graces send forth a pleasant sinel Cant. 1.12 13. Now Christ being once in the soul is for ever in the soul and with the poor soul for to help it in all its wants and loves it to the end that is for evermore Joh. 13.1 And Christ promises That he wil never leave the poor soul nor forsake it in its greatest wants Heb. 13.5 6. Now a poor soul begins to be strong in the Lord because Jesus Christ hath taught it to cal God Father Mat. 6.9 And Christ himself cals the poor soul his brother and his sister and tels them he wil pray his Father and their Father for to send his love-token into their hearts that is the sweet Spirit of God for to uphold them in the hour of temptation and to comfort them in their greatest distress and to teach them to have communion and fellowship with God and with Jesus Christ and this is the food that a true beleeving soul feeds upon in all the ordinances of God and in all the promises and providences of God in this world and this is that which a Saint leans upon even upon the very bosome of God and of Jesus Christ as that beloved Disciple did lean upon the brest of Christ at Supper Joh. 21.20 Sect. 3 Now by this means a true beleeving soul begins to be without slavish fear and without bastard-like fear because God hath said Fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I wil strengthen thee yea I wil help thee O thou poor weary soul yea I wil uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness Isa 41.10 Now this is that which holds up the head of a beleeving man or woman in this troublesom world for they see a way made by the blood of Jesus a new and living way and by the hand of faith they can take spiritual food out of that new and living way and feed upon that when worldly food seemeth to decay Heb. 10.19 20. And so likewise a beleeving man by the eye of faith doth see himself secure in this new and living way though the world should be turned upside down What saith the Prophet Habakkuk Although saith he the fields should yeeld no meat and the flocks were cut off from the fold and there should be no herd in the stals Mark the condition of a true beleeving man Yet saith he I wil rejoyce in the Lord and I wil joy in the God of my salvation Habak 3.17 18. I wil lift up mine eyes saith the beleeving man unto the hils from whence cometh my help My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth Psa 121.1 2 3. Now in the next place to lean upon Church-fellowship this wil not profit us But there is a fellowship which the Apostle speaks of which wil profit us Truly saith the Apostle we and all that do truly beleeve our fellowship saith he is with God and with Jesus Christ read 1 Joh. 1.3 4 and this fellowship is by way of union I in them and thou in me saith Christ that they may be made perfect in one Joh. 17.23 24. I shal now speak a word to those that are in external Church-fellowship Sect. 4 who hold it not fit for to have communion with one in some ordinances nay almost in all if one be not in fellowship with them but count of one as to be without or to be men of the world or almost as bad as Heathens in that condition But the Foundation or Being of the Saints is built upon the eternal good wil and good pleasure of God which he had purposed in himself before the world was and hath chosen us with an unchangeable love in him that is in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world That we should be holy and without blame before him in love read Eph. 1.4 9. 2 Tim. 1.9 Here you may see the original of the Saints from whence they are They come forth from God and they go with Jesus Christ to God their Father again For their life is hid with Christ in God read Col. 3.3 4. Joh. 14.19 20. For at that day saith Christ to the Saints ye shal know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you and because I live ye shal live also And where I am there shal you be also and you shal behold my glory saith Christ to the poor souls of men and rejoyce in that and you shal see my Fathers love in me and it shal be in you and I wil be in you read Ioh. 17.23 24 26. Here you may see from whence the Saints are and upon what fellowship they lean They lean upon the unchangable love of God and they lean upon their friend Jesus Christ and they lean upon the coming forth of the sweet Spirit from God and from Jesus Christ into their hearts and that sweet Spirit wil shew them things to come as Christ tels them and that blessed Spirit wil teach them to profit and he wil make Jesus Christ beautiful in their eyes for he shal receive from God and from Jesus Christ and shal shew it unto them as Christ himself speaks read Ioh. 16.13 14 15. Isa 33.16 17. Here you may see what heavenly provision and what a sure place of rest the holy one of Israel hath prepared for every true beleeving soul and here you may see what fellowship God and Jesus Christ have with every true beleeving man or woman And wil you that are called Anabaptists have no fellowship with those that God and Christ and the holy Spirit of God have fellowship withall except they be baptized your way You say to be baptized young availeth nothing I ask
Doth your baptizing old men or women avail any thing I indeed baptize you onely with water saith Iohn Mat. 3.11 Joh. 1.26 And this you do and mightily lean upon this weak shadow or figure and it is to be feared that many amongst you are like unto those in the Acts where Paul asked them If they had received the holy Ghost and they said unto him we have not so much as heard whether there be any holy Ghost Acts 19.2 3. Are not you carnally minded about the ordinances of God for the most part of you as the Apostle speaks in 1 Cor. 3.1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Doth not the most part of you rest in outsides of Religion being but very little acquainted with the truth and power of Religion as it is in the Spirit What difference is there between parishes and you from which you dissent They for the most part rest in a meer outside form of godliness read 2 Tim. 3.2 3 4 5. and think they were baptized when they were young and if they hear Sermons then they may be admitted to the Sacrament as they think by the Minister or Elders and if there be no more but this it is a meer outside shew and a form that wil not profit and is it not so with many of you that are called Anabaptists If you be but admited by those that say they wil baptize you then you lean much upon this and say now you are within the door but beware for many go in at this door and return out again with litle profit mistake me not I prize the ordinances of God and therefore I speak of the formality that most use in and about them I shal ask one question Are you acquainted experimentally with the Baptism of Jesus Christ upon your spirits even the sprinkling of clean water upon you and this wil purge your corrupt natures Ezek. 36.25 And this water wil refresh thy parched soul Isa 44.3 And this water wil be as a Wel of Living Water for to comfort thee in all thy straits Joh. 7.37 38 39. He saith John shal baptize you with the holy Ghost meaning Jesus Christ Mark 1.8 Now you that are called Anabaptists and you Presbyterians if you were acquainted with the Baptism of Jesus Christ that would clear up your judgments which I conceive are very dark for God is Love and if you were acquainted with this Baptism it would teach you to love one another read 1 Joh. 3.18 19 20 21 22 23 24. But one of you prays against the other which is not wel One word more to you that are rigid Anabaptists for you make a division in the body of Christ for Christ and his members are one 1 Cor. 12.12 13 14. And those that are one with Jesus Christ you judg not fit to be members or one with you if they be not of your judgment or opinion But we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread 1 Cor. 10.17 And by one Spirit saith the Apostle we are all baptized into one body 1 Cor. 12.13 And those that are joyned to the Lord are one spirit with the Lord 1 Cor. 6.17 And wil you slight those or separate your self from those that God hath joyned to himself This is not wel judg not according to externals be not over rigid in censuring Cease to be legal learn to be spiritual and then you wil love one another for salvation doth not depend upon diping or sprinkling or plunging or washing read Gal. 6.15 Sect. 5 One word to you that are moderate Anabaptists Do not the publick professors of this Kingdom both Ministers and people for the most part rest in an outside and a visible form of Religion I know you wil answer Yes I ask is it not so with the most part of those that are of your opinion Do they not rest too much in the form and shadow not being acquainted with Christ crucified who is the power of God and the wisdom of God and the salvation that God gives to men 1 Cor. 1.13 14.23 24. The Baptism of water for profession is nigh at hand and both young and old receive it But the Baptism of the Spirit is far off and few there be that have it but those that have it do not go back again to the shadow because Christ the Sun doth shine who is the Substance Mary Magdalen after she had seen Christ was risen from the grave she did not return back again to look Christ in the grave Joh. 20.11.16 17 18. Now you that lean so much upon the Baptism of water if you have no more that wil profit but little But moderate and Christian friend the Baptism of the Spirit of Christ wil teach us to profit in all conditions It wil teach us to know the world to be passing away and all the glory of it to be but as grass It wil teach us to dye to the world with Christ upon the Cross Gal. 6.14 15. It wil teach us to go down with Christ from the Cross into the Grave and there to see sin the devil the world the grave and the old man conquered and subdued and Jesus Christ triumphing from the Cross to the grave and in the grave and this is the Christians dayly work if they have faith read Col. 2.12 13 14 15. And so this blessed Spirit wil baptize every true Beleever every day more and more into the resurrection of Iesus Christ 1 Pet. 3.21 Now a true Beleever being raised up from the grave together with Jesus Christ is made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Iesus Eph. 2.5 6. And this is the Baptism that wil profit us and answer all our doubts and fil our hearts ful of the joy of the Lord that is Christ the bridegroom of the soul and the soul standeth to hear the voyce of Christ and greatly rejoyceth in that Jesus Christ is the spiritual Loadstone that draws up the soul to himself in whom the soul centers and finds its rest and in him the soul spiritually injoys all the ordinances and with Jesus Christ comes down again to all external ordinances and becomes weak to the weak that he may gain some and so likewise Iohn Baptist did rejoyce in Christs Ministry for he saw that to be glorious and said Christ should increase and the glory of his Ministry should run up into Christs Ministry He must increase saith John but I must decrease Joh. 3.29 30. Now you that rest so much upon water the Baptism of an outward profession and slight all those that are not of your opinion and you contend much for the time when and the manner how this ordinance of God must be administred Not to young children you say but to men and women of years because a young child cannot make a verbal Confession of Faith it is true indeed but a man or a woman in years may learn by education to make a verbal Confession of
Heb. 2.12 13. Isai 54.13 Joh. 6.4 5. 2 Cor. 5.19 John 16.13 14 15. John 3.1 1 Cor. 2.14 Rom. 1.19 20. 1 Corinth 1.24 John 14.6 Rom. 3.11 12. 1 Corinth 15.46 47. Rom. 5.14 Acts 22.2 3 4 5. Phil. 3.4 5 6 7 8. 1 Cor. 2.14 Rom. 10.14 15. Matth. 8.22 John 10.3 4 5. Psal 23.1 2 3. 1 Pet. 5.1 2 3. 1 Thes 2.7 8. 1 Pet. 2.2 3 7. Isai 66.11 12 13. Psal 45.1 Psal 66.16 17. 2 Corinth 4.5 John 10.12 Acts 20.28 29 30. Matth. 10.8 1 Thes 2.8 Ezek. 34.2 3. John 10.12 13. 2 Cor. 12.14 15. 1 Cor. 12.4 5 6 7. 2 Cor. 3.6 Rom. 7.4 6. Rom. 7.4 Phil. 3.3 1 Cor. 12.6 7. 1 Cor. 15.45 John 6.63 A word in season to two sorts of Elders in love Sect. 1 THe Elders which are among you saith the Apostle I exhort you to feed the flock of God read 1 Pet. 5.1 2 3. Now the Elders that are not able for to feed the flock of God let them be of what sort of Elders you please for to call them they are like unto a bad nurse that fills the childe full of bad milk and winde together and so as men walking with the winde of a false spirit as you may read it in the margent they profit the people nothing at all Micah 2.5 6 11. Deut. 32.8 9. Now there are two sorts of Elders The first sort is such as the Pharisees were that seemeth to be much for God and for the worship of God by way of tradition Matth. 15.1 2. The second sort of Elders is directly such as the Pharisees were that sought by all means for to put Jesus Christ to death Matth. 27.1 John 11.47 53. Now such Elders that are not able for to feed the flock of God and possess and keep that place They do as much as in them lies for to sterve the flock of God now the Elders that are but onely able for to feed the flock with shadows and no more as the letter of the Scriptures so far as natural reason can reach and so litterally examine the people and ask them questions and legally admonish them but not able for to break the bread of life to the people and so they build one another up in a specious form of Religion but they remain ignorant of Christ the power of Religion 2 Tim. 3.5 I believe that there are many Elders that are naturally very wise But the natural man perceiveth not the things of God neither doth this wise man know the things of God read 1 Cor. 2.14 How then can they instruct the people of things they themselves know not here are unfit Elders indeed But he that is an Elder in Jesus Christ is the good Elder and takes care for to make out Jesus Christ spiritually to the mindes and spirits of men 2 Tim. 4.5 22. But the fleshly Elder that is the natural man he is not a fit nor a true Elder for he desires to make a fair shew in the flesh and constrain men for to submit to them that they may glory in their flesh Gal. 6.12 13. And thus they zealously affect you that you might affect them and exclude us that are true Ministers and Elders of Jesus Christ saith the Apostle but this is not well for they would draw you from the truth and put you under the bondage of the law again Gal. 4.17 21. This may fill the ear but it cannot feed the heart this may please sense but not have the benefit of faith Now those that are right Elders whether they be lay Elders or learned Elders they must be men of honest report and full of the holy Ghost and wisdom If the Deacons were such as the Apostles did approve of read Acts 6.3 5 6. much more the Elders who are for to teach the people the word and doctrine of Jesus Christ which is the ground of the peoples being ruled well for the Elders are to teach the people as well the Matter of the Gospel as to admonish them of Manners to the Gospel and so sit and ask them questions and then admit of them 1 Tim. 5.17 I do desire that the Elders had but discerning spirits First The gift of discerning their own spirits Secondly The gift to discern the spirits of the people whom they receive This gift is and is to be had 1 Cor. 12.6 10 11. I ask doth not the greatest part of people in this Kingdom and the most people in most Parishes resemble the Papists as much as face doth face in a glass The Roman Catholike must not nor will not do any thing in matters of Religion without the consent of their holy Father the Pope and then the Jesuite and the Fryer and the Mass-Priest must be their Confessor and what they spake it must be Canonical And thus the people are led along in ignorance but they please the people once a yeer with a voluntary carrying of Christ upon the Cross for the people to kiss at the high Altar and then Christ is upon the Cross in another place a dying and the people adoring his picture and then there is publike confession of sin with penance and pilgrimage and then there is private examination and confession of sin to the Priest at other times and then he absolves them and remits their sins and then they are fit for the Eucharist as they think and when Easter day is come and Christ is risen and they have received the Eucharist then they are merry and think they have done enough for all the yeer after and with a devotion they eat up that Christ which they observe days and times for for they say The bread is his very flesh and the wine is the very blood of Jesus Christ which they drink and thus they please themselves with shadows and go crossing themselves to their graves rejoycing in the shadow and yet remain ignorant of Jesus Christ the substance I ask again Sect. 2 Doth not the greatest part of our English Protestants and the greatest part of people in most Parishes resemble the Papists as face doth face in a glass for they must not nor will not do any thing in matters of Religion without a Councel or a Synod Now it is plain That a Councel or a Synod may erre Instance Now the chief Priests and Elders and all the Councel sought false witness against Jesus to put him to death And I think this was an error read Matth. 26.59 Now these men had the Scriptures of the Prophets to be their guide but they could not know Jesus by them though he was present amongst them The second instance is A whole Councel and a Synod together may erre and the Councel and the Synod met together for to command the Apostles That they should not teach in Jesus name nor speak any more of his doctrine and so when they had beaten them they let them go And I think this was an error read Acts 5.21 28 40. And so the
of such a Ministry with the answer that Christ gave to one of his Disciples and the answer is this Let the dead bury their dead Mat. 8.22 That is let a dead living Ministry preach to a living dead Auditory for these be strangers to Christ and that is the reason there is so much barrenness in the most part of this Kingdom Now the sheep of Christ wil not follow strangers but flee from them for they know not the voyce of strangers but they know the voyce of Christ only and he calleth them by name and leadeth them out into green pastures and by stil waters read Joh. 10.3 4 5. Psa 23.1 2 3. Sect. 5 The Elders that are old in Christ and come from Christ they are right Elders NOw such Elders are able for to feed the flock of God 1 Pet. 5.1 2 3. And they are gentle among them even as a good nurse to her children which out of her affection feeds them with good milk 1 Thes 2.7 8. Even the sincere milk of the living Word which is truth and the taste of the grace of the Lord Christ and he is preious in their esteem 1 Pet. 2.2 3 7. And they suck and are satisfied with his brests of consolation and grow up into abundance of his glory and he like unto a mother is always comforting them read Isa 66.11 12 13. Now such Elders as these are like unto a good nurse Simile whose brest is ful of good milk and she is pained until the child hath received it instance in David My heart saith he is inditing of Christ and my heart boyleth within me or as water bubbleth up I am pained until I have declared Jesus Christ Psa 45.1 Therefore saith he come thou poor soul and I wil declare unto thee what Christ hath done for my soul and we wil praise him both together Psa 66.16 17. Now there is this difference between a good Elder and an Elder that is an hireling or an Elder that doth pretend for to be one Now a hireling is a servant to men for mens sakes and for mens wages but a good Elder is a servant to men for Jesus sake 2 Cor. 4.5 But he that is an hireling seeth the wolf coming which is fin and Antichrist now this hireling loves not the sheep therefore he leaveth the sheep to these wolves because he is one with these wolves and is not in relation to the sheep and hath no wil nor skil to help them Ioh. 10.12 Acts 20.28 29 30. Now the good Elder is in relation to Jesus Christ and so to the sheep of Christ and hath both wil and skil to lead the sheep apart from the wolves and as they receive freely so they give freely Mat. 10.8 Out of their store-house of love and good affection as Paul said not only the Gospel of God but our own souls for ye are dear unto us 1 Thes 2.8 Now on the other side the hireling loveth not the sheep but to feed him and cloath him read Ezek. 34.2 3. And so if he see a fatter benefice or a better abroad he wil leave the sheep for others that can feed them better though he cannot feed them at all but with husks in stead of fine wheat for he can neither pray nor preach but only say over a prayer and read over a Sermon Now the reason of all that hath been said is this these be hirelings of men and not sent out from Jesus Christ as Christ himself speaketh The â—ircling fleeth because he is an hireling and he careth not for the sheep read Ioh. 10.12 13. Now on the other side the good Elders whether they be Lay Elders or preaching Elders they wil very gladly spend and be spent for the good of one anothers souls as Paul said of himself for they have the same spirit that Paul had to make him a Minister read 2 Cor. 12.14 15. 1 Cor. 12.4 5 6 7. Now the reason and the ground why the good Elders are so able it is this Jesus Christ hath made them able Ministers to speak of the New Testament not of the letter only but of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.6 And again they are raised from the dead with Jesus Christ for to bring forth fruit unto God But not in the oldness of the letter but to serve him in newness of spirit Rom. 7.4 6. Now these being married unto Jesus Christ are the circumcision which worship God in spirit and rejoyce in Christ Iesus and have no confidence in the flesh read Rom. 7.4 Phil. 3.3 Here you may see the Lay Elder as wel as the Learned Elder is in some measure able to feed the flock of God For the Spirit is given to every man to profit withall and God worketh all in all 1 Cor. 12.6 7. Now you wil object and say Object That I am all Spirit or all for the Spirit and nothing is to be done but by the Spirit I answer Ans As the body is dead without a soul so is the soul dead without the last Adams quickening spirit 1 Cor. 15.45 Though the soul may seem to live a natural and fieshly life yet it is as though it were dead if the life of the Spirit of Christ be not communicated into it It is the Spirit that quickeneth saith Christ your living soul and natural fleshly life wil profit nothing The words that I speak unto you or in you they are Spirit and they are life saith Christ Ioh. 6.63 CHAP. VIII The Spiritual Opening and Application of these Scriptures VIZ. Phil. 2.1 2 3 4 5. Gal. 6.2 Rom. 14.5 23. Mat. 7.12 Iohn 13.35 Rom. 14.17 18 19. Col. 3.12 Ioh. 12.26 Isa 14.12 13 14. Rev. 9.11 18 19 20 21. Revel 12.10 11 12 13. 2 Thes 2.7 8 9. Gen. 3.4 5 6 7 8. Gen. 4.3 4 5. Acts 26.9 Acts 22.3 Rom. 9.31 32. Zech. 7.10 Psa 15.2 3. John 8.44 Gen. 4.8 Acts 9.1 2 3 4 5 6. Psa 119.11 Psalm 119.105 John 14.6 Gen. 4.8 Ioh. 12.10 11. 1 Cor. 2.6 7 8. Mat. 6.11 Psa 150.5 6 7 8. Hosea 13.9 Hosea 14.4 Isa 43.25 Ier. 31.33 34. 2.5.19 Micah 7.18 19. Exo. 34.6 7. Isa 38.17 1 Iohn 3.1 1 Tim. 2.5 Lev. 16.21 22. Iob 33.23 24. Isa 61.1 Luk. 4.18 Iere. 50.20 Isa 53.6 7. Col. 2.13 14 15. Rom. 8.33 34. Iohn 13.10 1 Iohn 3.23 24. Iohn 1.1 2 3 4 5. Prov. 8.22 23. 1 Thes 2.19 20. Mark 8.24 Acts 17.18 19 20. Iohn 18.19 20 21. Mark 8.25 Exo. 4.10 12. 4.14 15 16. c. 7.1 2. Rom. 2.17 18 19 20 21 22 23. Iames 2.8 1 Iohn 3.23 Iames 4.11 1 Cor. 13.4 5. Phil. 3.15 Ez. 13.22 Iohn 21.15 Psa 64.3 Rev. 12.10 Prov. 6.16 17 18 19. Ier. 23.6 7 8. Eph. 1.4 5. Gal. 4.19 Isa 66.12 13. Isa 49.22 23. Psa 39.8 Prov. 6.22 23. 1 Ioh. 5.3 4 9 10. Rom. 5.8 1 Ioh. 1.7.2.1 2. Gal. 6.15 16. Psa 1.2 Eph. 4.20 21. Iohn 14.6 7. Isa 9.6 Psa 90.1 2. 1 Pet. 2.5
Ministers do fall in with these two and make up their conclusion with the Jews in the ninth of the Romans But as it were by the works of the Law Together with thy help O Christ we look for a blessing and for heaven and for what we have Rom. 9.30 31 32. Now for want of Preaching of Free-grace Sect. 5 A Simile we know not where the strength of Sampsâ—n lyes I mean Christ and so we begin to set up our selves as it were to be partners with Christ and thus the people are at a loss Now on the other side Free-grace teaches a man for to deny himself and to give God in Christ the preeminence alone and to say it is no more I but the Lord is my light and my life and my strength and in this will I be confident and this Free-grace causeth to grow Psal 27.1 3 5. Now he that hath tasted of the sweetness of Free-grace cannot but speak of it because it is the onely means for to break a hard heart and the onely cordial for to comfort a sick soul 1 Pet. 2.3 7. Psal 45.1 2. 1 Tim. 1.12 13 14 15 16 17. Psal 27.13 14. Now on the other side he that hath not tasted of Free-grace but speaks of it by hear-say though he be never so learned a man yet he will be but a fumbler in speaking of Free-grace or a bungler as we use for to speak And to deal plainly I conceive that the most of our Ministers want both will and skill for to speak of the Free-grace of God in and through Christ for they speak but little of it and that is the reason that the most people are so ignorant of it and live so much in sin read Tit. 2.11 12. When grace doth appear sin vanishes away O the glorious truths of grace that lye under that black cloud of Antinomianism That reproachful name which causeth the people for to sin in speaking evil of that which they know not Now I shall reflect back Sect. 6 and speak a word of the souls being taken by Christ into the banqueting house where Christ doth acquaint the soul what the pardon of sin is and that its sins are done away both past present and to come of this I spake before Now Jesus Christ doth acquaint the soul that it shall have the evidences of his Spirit for to comfort it in time of distress when temptation doth come upon it and when the world doth trouble it and when worldly men do oppose it and if it doth begin to sink or to droup then it shall call but not for the pardon of sin for that is sure in God for it but it shall say with Peter help Lord send the evidences of thy Spirit to acquaint me of the sure mercies of David and thus the soul doth acquaint Christ with its wants and then the soul doth find the left hand of Christ to be under its head when it is in communion with Christ in the banqueting house which house is Christ himself and there the right hand of Christ doth imbrance me saith the soul Now these embraces that Christ gives the soul they are the sweet gayls of the Spirit which put all things out of doubt in the soul Cant. 2.4 5 6. Now it pleaseth Jesus Christ Christ like a mother draws a curtain sometimes to draw a curtain between himself and the soul as a mother doth sometimes in love to her child and then the child cries after her and thus the poor soul cries after the Spirit of Christ in all occasions to come and comfort it Make hast my beloved saith the soul to Christ and be thou like to a Roe or to a young Hart upon the mountains of spices Flee away make haste do not stay by the way saith the soul that longs after Christ No comfort like unto thine O my Love No love like unto thine O my Joy Cause me to hear thy voyce quickly that I faint not O my dear I hearken to thy voyce O sweet Spirit of Christ let me hear it and it sufficeth me though I dye and come to thee which is best of all For in thy presence is fulness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore Cant. 8.13 14. Psa 16.11 And thus he whose Name is Love 1 Joh. 4.8 doth descend and come down into the hearts of his people to manifest himself unto them and in them 1 John 4.8 9 10. John 17.6 And thus the blessed God doth manifest himself and make known things unspeakable and ful of glory and doth let into the soul high manifestations of his love which is the original of the pardon of sin Now if there come a black cloud at any time between the soul and the Sun of righteousness who is God blessed for ever yet the soul in this case can say as Peter said I am sure that my sun is in the living God and he wil speak words of eternal life unto me Iohn 6.68 69. For the Spirit of the Lord put his Word in my mouth saith David and hath made with me an everlasting Covenant which is sure I know and though my sun doth not always shine yet in him wil I be confident read 2 Sam. 23.2 4 5. Psa 27.1 3. Now here comes in the work of the Sect. 7 third Person in the blessed Trinity which is according to the promise of Christ Iohn 15.26 Now here follows the souls desires that hath tasted how gracious the Lord is first That it may dwel in the house of the Lord which house is Christ and there to behold the beauty of the Lord and to have it made out in his holy Temple which Temple is Jesus Christ Psa 27.4 5. And here to have the light of his fatherly countenance and the sweet smiles of his holy Spirit constantly upon its soul and to have the high manifestations of the love of God in Christ as the Apostle prays for Eph. 3.16 17 18 19. and to have the evidences kept close unto its soul Now Christ answers the soul Answ my Spirit shal come into thee and shal keep thee guide thee and shew thee things to come concerning me and he shal make me beautiful in thine eyes and he shal shed his love into thy soul which wil cause thee to love me Rom. 5.5 And thou shalt have all thy treasure in me saith Christ to the soul for all things that the Father hath are mine and I and my Father are one and thou shalt be one with us in my union and with me shalt thou have communion Iohn 16 13 14 15. 17.21 to 26. Answ Now here is the souls answer unto Christ O blessed God the fountain of Israel O my God thou hast turned all my prayers that I made for the pardon of my sin into praises or praising of thee O my God who hast forgiven all my sins Bless the Lord O my soul saith David and forget not to praise him for all
hath its seat or where sin is to be found and that God sees this or that sin A true beleeving man doth consist of two parts A strong man to sin and a strong man to cast out sin Matth. 12.28 29. Sin is a filthiness that doth rest both in flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 Mark this you that are self-righteous Luke 18.9 For the seat of sin is in the flesh saith the Apostle Rom. 7.18 But the death of sin is upon the Cross of Christ Col. 2.14 Gal. 6.14 Christ in you the hope of your glory is the strong man in you that doth cast out sin and satan and he doth bring sin every moment to his Cross and there he is nailing it to his Cross and crucifying sin and self upon his Cross or by the power of his Cross Col. 1.27 29. Gal. 6.14 The best of men have sin in their flesh and they hate it Rom. 7.15 But in their spirit they observe no sin to obey it but serve the Law of God and love it Rom. 7.25 Now God sees sin as the great false Prophet that hath deceived the false Prophets that were and the false Teachers or the false Prophets that now are amongst us which run before they be sent of the Lord and they steal my Word every one from his neighbor saith the Lord And they say I said when I have not spoken to them and yet they prophesie saith the Lord though it be but a dream and it may be cal themselves Ministers of the Gospel Now none more likely then such men who privily shal saith the Apostle Great learned men are as ignorant of Christ as unlearned men instance in Nicodemus and Saul bring in all manner of heresies even denying the Lord that bought them And yet for all this these men may be great learned men but the God of this world that is the Devil hath blinded their minds and yet they may remain Prophets and Teachers though they do but teach the ayr of their own brain according to the Prince of the ayr who exalteth himself in the Temple of God and is like unto a Lamb in sheeps clothing beware of these saith our Saviour and so saith the Apostle Let none of these men deceive you by any means saith the Apostle though they make a fair shew in the flesh shewing themselves that they are for God and so compel you and if you oppose them you shall finde them inwardly ravening Wolves or openly like Lyons for to tear you Now to make it appear to you Sect. 11 that there have been false Prophets formerly read Jere. 23.21 to the end and so likewise read 1 King 22.11 12. And so likewise to make it appear to you that there are false Prophets and false Teachers even now amongst us read 2 Pet. 2.1 Matth. 24.24 25. Now I would not be mistaken here in what I have said concerning false Teachers for I do not mean mechanick men nor illiterate men though there may be some things amiss amongst them yet they can speak the true thetorick of the Heaven of God which is very sweet unto them for their conversation is in God and with God read Phil. 3.20 Now these mechanick men which I mean are such as are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets and Christ himself is the chief corner stone Ephes 2.20 21. And they are acquainted as Christ is with the mansions in God Iohn 14.2 And they see the land that is afar off read Isai 33.17 Want of humane learning is no let in revealing Christ Now I had rather hear such mechanick men one hour then some great learned men twenty four hours though they should come from Oxford or Cambridg In case they should be but only learned in the brain and so learned in the theorick that is to speak of an outside and no more Now I will give you a reason of what I have said A learned man having the School-Arts may by the help of a Globe or a Map discourse much of the Countrey of Spain or Italy or Constantinople though he himself were never there And so by the letter of the Scripture and the help of a Library he may talk much of Heaven and God and yet know but very little concerning that which they talk so much of Therefore I said I had rather hear some mechanick men because their conversation is in heaven as the Apostle speaks Phil. 3.20 Now such men can speak the truest of that place where they are most conversant though it may be not so Schollar-like yet they can and do inwardly walk with God as Enoch did and they please God Gen. 5.24 Heb. 11.5 And they know his name and therefore they trust in his name and speak good of it Psal 9.10 Therefore it is more profitable to hear such mechanick men or such illiterate men though it may be they are jeered with the spirit and what they do say some they do it by the spirit and this is spoken by way of a jeer But I will tell you what I think That God doth see this as great a sin in England as any one sin And this is that spirit of Antichrist which denies Christ come in the flesh or in our flesh as you may read 1 Iohn 4.1 2 3. The Papists confess Christ come in the flesh but they must not confess him to be come into their flesh for to guide and to lead them and teach them but they must be taught by their great Doctors and Rabbies of their Church and they must be led which way they will and is it not even so amongst us at this day As for instance in our Clergy men of England they are divided into two parts The one part for the King and the other part for the Parliament Now I ask is Christ divided how are the people like to be taught The one party for the King strives for that easie Common Service Book or Common Prayer Book and their own Will-worship with their old ceremonies which are as a shadow or a vail before their eyes so that they cannot see the Substance of Religion but dote after the shadow And the other party which is for the Parliament they strive for a Directory after the best Reformed Churches and the neerest to the Word of God as they say but they themselves will be the Judges over other mens Consciences and what they say other men must do if they had but power in their hands And thus while these two sorts of Clergy men are striving for shadows and the most people stand amazed to see them and the people can say there is but one God one Christ and one holy Spirit And if these great learned men could but speak experimentally of God the Father who is first and Christ coming out of the Father who is second and the Holy Ghost proceeding forth from them both and is the third and yet these three are but one Now if our learned men could
shall answer you as Christ answered the Jews If God were your father saith Christ then ye would love your Brethren Joh. 8.38 c. Now mark this all you that verbally say You beleeve in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth and yet you hate your Brethren as Cain that wicked one did who slew his brother see the reason of it and judg of it among your selves read 1 Iohn 3.12 Now Sect. 3 as Christ was said to be the Mother and proved so Christ may be said to be the childe the spiritual childe that is born Christ must be born in our hearts and then we shall grow or is to be born in men and women that come to be true Christians as the Apostle makes it plain My little children saith he of whom I travel in birth again until Christ be formed in you or born in you Gal. 4.11 19. Mark this all you that minde the shadow more then growing up into the Substance for this spiritual Childe Jesus must be born in thy heart O man or woman as well as in the womb of the Virgin Mary and then this Childe will grow up in thee and wax strong in thy spirit as he did in the days of his flesh and then thy heart shall be filled with wisdom and the grace of God through Jesus Christ will be upon thee or in thee And this Childe Jesus will increase in wisdom and thou O man or woman in whose heart this Childe is born thou shalt be in favor with God and man But I do not mean fleshly man for thou art out of favor with him for he jeers and scoffs at thee like Ishmael for Christs sake as we almost all do at this day though we talk so much of Reformation But thou O man in whose heart this Childe Jesus is born shalt be in favor with God and with the Man Christ and in this favor there is life for evermore Luke 2.40 52. Now I shall confirm what hath been said of the Childe Jesus being born in the heart of a man with Christ in the Spirit now dwelling in the hearts of some men Know ye not saith the Apostle that the spirit of God dwelleth in you and ye are the temple of God and so examine your selves Know ye not how that Iesus Christ is in you 1 Cor. 3.16 2 Cor. 13.5 Now Jesus Christ living in the heart is the ground and the hope of a Christians glory Colos 1.27 Now Christ in God and God in Christ taking up the form of this Childe Jesus and every true believing man and woman and that freely of Free-grace and all this by way of union freely read Phil. 2.6 7 8. Now God in Christ making in himself of two one new man and this by way of union with himself and the Cross of Christ as you may read Ephes 2.15 16. Colos 1.19 20. Sect. 4 Now by way of union with God in two natures every man that hath this Childe Jesus born in his heart and that by vertue of a promise such a man is the new man that the Apostle speaks of Ephes 2.15 Which comes to be made partaker of the divine nature as you may read 2 Pet. 1.3 4. Now if one should say The Childe Jesus is the second wonder in Heaven which the devil in men doth seek for to persecute That the most men in our age nay almost all men doth persecute this Childe Jesus as soon as he begins to be born but in a quite contrary way to that of the Jews and the zealous Pharisees for they persecuted this Childe Jesus from the first unto the last because he came in the form of an unlearned and weak man and he became as a servant and humbled himself for to work out a redemption for his creation Phi 2.7 8 Psal 40.6 7 8. No sufferings like unto Christs suffrings yet these blinde learned Jews and Pharisees persecuted this Jesus in the days of his flesh from the very first unto the last and said he had a devil and came to break the Law and that he was a loose fellow and a gluttonous man and a wine bibber and a friend of leud persons and they laughed him to scorn an spit in his face and struck him upon the face and scourged him and then put a gorgeous robe upon him and jeered at him but not being content with this they platted a crown of thorns and put it on his sacred head from which the precious oyntment runs down upon our souls and when they had crowned him with prickling thorns upon his tender head then they jeered him and said Hail king of the Jews and they put a reed in his right hand and they bowed the knee before him as to a King And thus the learned Jews and the precise Pharisees together with the sotish chief Priests and the rude multitude made a mocking stock of this Childe Jesus For at the first they had no room for him in the Inne but he was fain to be laid in a horse manger and there they sought to destroy him And as soon as he was grown a little in age they thrust him out of their City and led him unto the brow of an hill to cast him down headlong to break his neck thus they made him a man of sorrow and grief all along to the very last after they had made him a King they took off the purple robe from him and put his own raiment on him and led him away to crucifie him and as they went they spit upon him took the reed out of his right hand and smote him on the head and said he was a Malefactor and so to the Cross he must go and there to be hanged that is he had his arms stretched out his merciful hands were both nailed to the Cross both his feet in a cruel manner and there his natural life did languish upon the Cross for som certainhours together and in all this misery these hard hearts mocked at him and gave him vineger to drink mingled with gall and they that passed by railed on him in this distress when he hung by the hands and feet fast nailed to the Cross then they wagging their heads at him and bid him save himself and come down from the Cross Now here is one thing of note the chief Priests with the Scribes among themselves were mocking of Christ Let Christ the King of Israel A ministry or people being ignorant of Christ are the most forward to do all maner of cruelty even unto death that saved others descend from the Cross that we may see and beleeve Mark 15.29 30 31.32 Now Jesus being long upon the Cross for the sin of man at length he gave up the ghost But yet their malice did not rest here though he was dead for they came to break his legs but being prevented of that one of them took a spear and pierced his side or thrust it into his
side All this was done unto his body which was humane besides his troubles in the spirit when he was in an agony in the garden where his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground Now never were any mans sorrows like unto the sorrows of Jesus Christ yet for all this their malice did not change the stream of love which was in Jesus Christ for when they were a thrusting him out of the world and he was going unto God his Father then this Child Jesus which was the Man Christ and anointed of God above all his yellows prayed Father saith he for give them for they know not what they do for they are ful of the seed of the serpent Yet nevertheless O righteous Father saith Jesus Christ A ful Redemption by Christ for al men if all men had but faith to beleeve I have finished a sufficient Redemption for the whole world if thou O Father wilt but give them faith to beleeve it or to give a true credit unto that report for it is finished And thus Jesus Christ bowed his head and took his leave of this cruel people and this wicked world together as you may read Luk. 23.34 John 19.30 Now these blind Jews and Lawyers Sect. 5 and zealous Pharisees together with the blind devotion of the chief Priests and the rude multitude they all looked upon an outside Christ or a fleshly Christ or Christ the Son of God vailed with flesh so that they did not see within the vail the most holy of all therefore they fel upon him and judged him to be forsaken of God and so they marred his visage and despised him and saw no comeliness or beauty in him that he should be more desired then another man Isa 52.14 Isa 53.2 2 4. Now the man in whose heart the Child Jesus is born such a man or woman sees within the vail and sees Christ spiritually sees Christ as God-man ful of divine amiableness and sweetnesses of beauty and unspeakable comeliness of the spiritualnesses in Christ when he was vailed with his flesh but much more now Christ is ascended far above all heavens to fil the souls of men ful of spiritual gifts unutterable and ful of glory Eph. 49 10. Psa 68.18 Now the soul of such a man or woman is sick of love for the delightful in-comes of a spiritual Christ now unvailed which is not to be seen visibly for he is invisible and not to be seen now but by the eye of faith for by faith Moses saw him that was invisible Heb. 11.27 Now a man in Christ is a new creature and Christ being born in a man makes him partaker of the Divine Nature as the Apostle speaks Now Christ is our life and our life is hid in God Col. 3.3 4. Now the life which a true christianized man or woman that is a true beleeving man or woman or a true beleeving man in his young age as wel as in his old age now the life which they live it is not they but Christ liveth in them and as a Father he doth translate them into the substance of the Gospel which is Christ the inheritance of the Saints in light but no new light mark this all you that mock and jeer at new light Gal. 2.20 Col. 1.12 13. Now Christ being in a Christian and a Christian in Christ Christ becomes the Christians School-master and doth Gospelize him and make him a new creature and he doth spiritualize him and make him heavenly and Christ-like that is like unto himself Now a true beleeving man or woman are the auditors or the hearers and the holy Ghost is the preacher or the speaker and the heart of a true beleeving man is the place where this sweet Spirit of grace doth preach or make known the Lord who is our salvation Eph. 4.20 21. 1 Jo. 2.27 28. Now the Lord is that Spirit that doth all in us and for us And in the glory of the Lord every true beleeving man or woman is changed into the image of Christ for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily and a true beleeving man or woman is comple at in him Now all this is done by the Spirit of the Lord who is both Lord and Christ read 2 Cor. 3.17 18. Col. 2.9 10. Now you wil object and say Object that I seem to make more Christs then one whereas I say that the child Jesus is to be born in the heart of a man or Christ the Son of God for man who is the Son of God in man he is to be formed in the hearts of men or Christ to be born in the heart of a man which is God with us or God in us Mat. 1.21 23. Luk 2.26 27. I answer Answ there is but one God and Christ one Christ who is above all and through all and in you all and when this Christ doth appear in thy heart O man or woman then thou shalt also appear with him in glory for grace is glory Eph. 4.6 Col. 3.4 11. One word more to prove that there is but one true Christ Sect. 6 by way of simile Simile There is but one natural Sun in the Firmament that doth shine upon this world and all men and creatures do live in this Sun and do partake of its light and heat or else they would dye and vanish away and this Sun doth live in men and in all creatures with his light and heat but men and creatures are distinct from this Sun and apart from it so that every man or creature is not a Sun as this natural Sun in the Firmament which I have spoken of but every man and creature doth partake of the fulness of this Suns light and heat and so they are nourished And so likewise in the last place I shal prove That every true Christian or true beleeving man or woman is not a Christ neither are they Christs as you did object and say I seemed to make more Christs then one yet a true beleever is one with Christ in union and communion light and life And first of all for union I in them and thou in me I wil saith Christ that they be with me where I am to behold my glory Joh. 17.23 24. Secondly For communion of the fulness of Christ Every true beleever receiveth grace after grace unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ Joh. 1.16 Eph. 4.13 Thirdly The light of the Lord is my light saith the soul of every true beleeving man and it is my joy and delight to walk in this light and his salvation is the strength of my life of whom shal I be afraid Psa 27.1 Fourthly Christ is my life saith a true beleeving Christianized man in whom I live and move and have my being and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who is God with us or God in us and his name
is Emmanucl Mat. 1.23 Now every new born child of God and every Christ-like man doth live and walk and talk in the Son of God who is the fountain of life and light and is the divine Sun of righteousness who doth shine into the hearts of true Beleevers Now as I spake before of the new born children or true beleevers to be in the Sun of righteousness the fountain of life and light and that God is in them it doth not follow that they are so many Gods or so many Christs no there is but one God who is Christ Hear O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord Deut. 6.4 And there is but one Lord Christ Who is God blessed for ever Luk. 2.26 Yet though these be not Gods nor Christs which have been spoken of yet they are shining Stars in the Heaven of God and they are Kings with crowns of glory in the hand of the Lord A true beleeving man is as a shining star and a royal diadem in the hand of Christ and a royal diadem in the hand of Christ who is the hand of God and thy God Isa 62.3 Nay more they are as streams flowing from the fountain of life and as rivers run back again into the sea from whence they came even so do the Saints return into God in Christ from whence they came and there they solace themselves in the ocean sea of divine pleasures and they are abundantly satisfied with the drink of that river for there they stand admiring of God and praising of God and rejoycing in God Now as the men of this world do walk up and down in the light of the natural Sun in the Firmament Sect. 7.3 even so do the Saints in light walk up and down in the light of the blessed God who is the spiritual Sun that shines into their souls And in his light they see light for there is a fulness of light read Psa 36.7 8 9. Ioh. 1.4 5. And every Saint or true Beleever hath his part or portion which is a fulness to him and in him yet every true beleeving soul is apart from God and doth behold his face in righteousness Psa Saints are not Gods nor Christs but sparks of the divinenature 17.15 And though a true beleeving soul be in so neer a union with God and so close a communion with Christ and such an unsupparableness of oneness between God and the Saints as you may read Ioh. 17.21 yet they are not Gods and Christs unto themselves nor unto others as you did object and say that I seemed to make them so but they all say as the Apostle said Though there be many that are called gods yet say they to us that beleeve there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and we in him and for him and to us there is but one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him and in him 1 Cor. 8.5 6. Now this is the poor souls rest that all things are done by the hands of Christs for its good and this is the weary souls great comfort that Christ is a City of rest for it to be in and this is the great joy of an oppressed soul that Christ is the King of that City to whom it wil run together with an innumerable company of the first born which are inrolled in heaven and these run to God as a bride prepared and adorned for her husband Now these poor jeered ones and hared for Christs sake and separated from their company are reproached by zealous men and their names cast out as evil yet these persecuted ones in this storm have great cause to rejoyce for their rest is in heaven Luk. 6.22 23. And they as loyal subjects run unto their King Jesus for protection and this King is their loving friend and he is the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne of grace before whom they stand with boldness and much confidence as you may read at large Heb. 12.22 23 24. Rev. 5.4 5 6 7 13. Now I shal make two Uses of Comfort which wil be useful unto a poor soul in every sad condition And the first Use is this Christ is the life of the oppressed soul First Use of comfort and the actings movings of the soul if the soul be spiritually sensible it saith thus Though I live it is Christ that lives in me and moveth me and acteth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God Col. 3.4 Gal. 2.20 Now the Faith of the Son of God it is Christ God-man who is the substance of our effectual faith Now a poor soul having the substance of faith within it self the effects follow as in the case of Mary towards Lazarus even so a poor soul in its sadest conditions hath its head lifted up until Christ speak in the soul and then the soul is quickly upon the wing and riseth hastily up to meet Jesus Christ its Lord as Mary did and then the poor sad soul saith Lord if thou hadst been here my brother my husband my child had not dyed nor my estate which is so neer unto me and so comfortable unto me had not wasted nor been taken from me and I left in such a sad condition Now Christ seeing the soul in this sad condition why Christ himself groans in the Spirit and is troubled with the poor soul and weeps and again groaning in himself he troubled himself and labors to bring into the sad souls divine consolation to refresh it Sect. 8 And whereas some soul doth object and say If Christ had been with it its brother or its comfort had not died Now Christ answers the soul again as he answered Nathaniel The soul is weak in faith when it saith Christ is far from it When thou wast under the fig-tree I saw thee O thou poor soul when thou wast under such a sad burden then I saw thee and when thou wast in such a sad condition then I was with thee and when thou wast so much dejected and cast down even then I was with thee and held thee up that thou shouldst not faint I was never absent from thee O poor soul and the many tribulations which thou hast been under it is not as punishment unto thee but for a tryal of thy faith and for the exercise of thy graces Fear not O thou poor soul for sin shall not condemn thee for it is I thy Christ thy Jesus that died for thee yea rather that is risen again and is in God ever speaking good of thee and for thee O thou poor soul and my Father heareth me always Rom. 8.33 34 35. And I and my Father will send a comforting spirit into thee for to cheer thee up and at that day thou shalt know that I am in my Father and that thou art in me and that I am in thee Joh. 15.26 Joh. 14.19 20. Now this soft
hand of the Gospel moveth the heart of a man to a godly sorrow The goodness and the kindness and mercy of God applyed to the hearts of men that leadeth men forth to a true repentance and a right breaking of heart Now when the love of Jehovah doth break into the heart of a man or woman then the soul doth cry out and say the loving kindness and the goodness of God hath conquered my soul and the Lord draws my soul after him with the cords of love and how then shal I return again to folly seeing Jehovah hath taken hold of my soul with his love Now the rough hand of the Law as it is unskilfully handled by the most of our learned Men that know not Christ handle the law roughly rather hardens the hearts of men and sears them up in their sins then it mollifies and softens the heart because the Law is a strict rule holy jvst and good not given for men to do and live thereby Now the strict rule of the Law in the letter meeting with a crooked siner these two fal to variance as Cain did with Abel Now this carnal siner looks upon the Law as too strict that if he offend in one point he is guilty of all and so lies lyable to a curse for not continuing in all things which are in the book of the Law to do them Now this siner looking upon the Law out of the hand of Christ his heart begins to harden against God and he becomes an enemy against God and is not subject to the Law of God Rom. 8.7 And if it were possible this carnal minded man would destroy both God and his Law for the very same reason that Cain slew his brother 1 Joh. 3.12 And thus a man comes to be seared up in his sins when both he and his minister look upon the Law carnally and not in the hands of Christ as we in our days have many pretenders for the Law and many that rest in the Law and not in Christ and yet make their boast of God and seem to be Teachers of others and yet not able to teach themselves and yet make their boast of the Law and remain carnal in the Gospel and can hardly tel how to speak any thing of Christ Sect. 9 Now these rough handlers of the Law are like unto Esau cuning men of the field men that love red pottage and see no beauty in Jacobs heritage but despise it How can these men apply savory meat unto a poor hungry thirsty soul whom they hate for the blessing wherewith it is blessed in Christ And Esau said in his heart Now Esaus heart being ful of the seed of the serpent he said he would slay his brother Jacob as Herod would have done Christ Now by savory meat I mean the sweetnesses and the refreshings of Christ unto a poor weary soul which these men by experience know not as you may take an instance of the Jews and Pharisees Instance great zealous talkers of the Law of God and the Worship of God Nay they made their boast of God and yet they did not know Jesus Christ though he was present amongst them but dealt roughly with him according as they did see the Law as you may read at large Rom. 2.17 21 23. Gen. 25.27 30 34. 27.41 Iohn 9.13 14 15 16 29. Have not we many now in our days which hold forth the Law as the chief Priests and Pharisees did that is quite out of the hands of Christ and they tel the people they know not the Law but they must beleeve it as they hold it out unto them for the chief Priests and Pharisees told the people in Christs time That the people who know not the Law are cursed And thus the Law did seem to be rough by their unskilful handling of it out of the hands of Christ as we also may do at this day Iohn 7.45 48 49. How the Law in the hand of Christ turns to be Gospel Christ is the living law of God and the onely rule for a Christian and doth the greatest work as for instance Saul in his height of malice when he was going to Damascus the light of Christ did shine round about him and changed his evil heart He did not hear the voyce of thundering and lightning at Mount Sinai but a gentle hand and a soft sweet voyce speaking unto him and saying Saul Saul why persecutest thou me in my members Now Saul was not afrighted out of his wits but said Who art thou Lord and the Lord said I am Iesus whom thou persecutest but thou shalt do so no more for I will make thee a Minister of grace and though Saul trembled yet his heart was possest with love to the Lord and to those that he had persecuted for saith he Lord what wilt thou have me to do for thee and for them that I have so wronged Now this is a Gospel-change Acts 9.3 4 5 6. 26.16 Sect. 10 Now if this work of the Gospel had been wrought in the hearts of those that might have prevented bloodshed or in those that were so exceeding mad to shed the blood that was shed in Guildhal-yard but it seems they were of Sauls minde Men in our times like unto Saul and the chief Priests and Pharisees thinking that they might do many things nay any thing against a man or a woman under the name of Independents or Sectaries that is to put Christ and his members out of their Synagogues and City nay further even to kill Christ in his members or Christ and his members together and in so doing To think that they do God service These things are done and the cause is they neither know God nor Christ these are Christs own words as you may read Acts 26.9 10 11. John 16.2 3. But I am of Stevens minde and shall say Lord lay not this sin to the charge of this City Acts 7.58 59 60. Now the Law being in the hands of Christ and the Spirit of Christ who is the onely blessed God and the efficient cause in changing of that which we call Law into Gospel Thus God in Christ saith unto every soul I am the Lord thy God thou shalt have no other Gods before me Exod. 20.2 3. Now this Law is brought by the Spirit of Christ Christ makes way for himself in the hearts of men into the heart of a man or a woman and there it is planted and ingraven Jere. 31.33 34. and Christ puts in the finger of his sweet Spirit in at the hole of the door of the heart in at the hole of the lock as it were and his Spirit is the key that opens the heart and Christ with his finger puts back all the barrs and bolts that stand between him and the soul and Christ looks into the soul and takes away all drousie distempers and waters the soul and refreshes it with his sweet graces Christ is a sweet Law
and the soul follows him in delight and then the bowels of the soul were moved after its Christ and rose up to open to it s beloved and its hands dropped with myrrhe and my fingers dropped with sweet smelling myrrhe ' which Christ had left for me upon the handles of the lock which he handled Cant. 5.4 5. Now Christ is the Law of God and the Rule of a Christian and he alone opens the heart and plants himself therein and then the soul doth begin to wait upon Christ and attend to hear what Christ speaks as it is plain in the case of Lydia Now she being baptized with the baptism of the holy Ghost she begins to love the servants of Christ and to constrain them in love to abide in her house Psal 40.7 8 9. Acts 16.14 15. Now this is a good president for all you that are rigged Presbyterians and endeavor under the name of Independents or Sectaries to out the servants of Christ out of their own houses nay out of the City if it were possible and it is much ado for a man and his wife to live together if they be not both of one opinion but as for parents and children there must be a separation between them for their opinion and as for the poor hired sersant some men in a Parish it may be out of zeal doth come into his or her Master and Mistriss and solicite them for to turn away their servant because of their opinion it may be for not coming unto their Parish Church or the like My Brethren these things out not so to be for it is believed that these are the servants of Christ which you labor for to put so far from you This is not to be like unto Lydia to constrain them to abide in your houses but like Gaderens to thrust them out of your coasts and so to adde trouble and grief unto a poor soul But now let me speak a word Sect. 11 by way of a second Use unto thee Vse 2 O man or woman that art thus troubled The servant must be as the Lord is it was even so with Christ but comfort thy self with this O thou poor soul The Lord knows how to deliver thee and before thou call the Lord will answer thee even the secret pantings and the inward struglings and the lifting up of thy heart unto God and as Christ said so mayest thou say Father I thank thee that thou hearest my inward groanings and complaints I know that thou hearest me always and seest me and art ever present with me Iohn 11.41 42. Now some will object and say Object That they are under great temptations A sad complaint of a troubled soul and extream heavy burdens and mighty difficulties and in many wants sorrows griefs and pains do possess them day and night And the light of Gods countenance is hid from them and they want the assurance of his love and favor and new troubles do arise every day and overtake them and they are dejected in themselves and either forsaken or forgotten of God and rejected of the world and as for their part they cannot say as Christ said Father I thank thee that thou hearest me I know that thou hearest me always Christ indeed said so And as for my part in my troubles I call upon God and I know that he hears me and sees me and stands by me and looks upon me in all my miseries but yet he doth not deliver me out of my troubles but lets them lye heavy upon me still And I see likewise That all things come alike to all there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked to the good and the clean and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath Yet for all this I do not say It is in vain to serve God or what profit is it that I have to keep his ordinances Though I see they that tempt God are even delivered Mal. 3.14 15. But as for my part I am not let alone so long as to have time for to swallow down my spittle but one trouble is in the neck of another upon me Job 7.19 And God stands by me The reasoning of a troubled soul with God and looks upon me in all my miseries and I know that he is a pitiful heavenly Father Now this is that which I wonder at and am astonished to see a natural earthly Father as soon as he sees his poor childe in misery he indeavors to help him out of it presently Now I know that God is a tender-hearted Father and is able for to help his poor children out of all their troubles in a moment but he suffers them to lye among the grimy pots and the thorns a long time it may be all their life time Psal 68.13 So that I may say as Job said Why hast thou set me as a mark to be shot against so that I am a burden to my self Job 7.20 Alass poor soul I shall answer thee Thou speakest out of the anguish of thy own spirit and out of the bitterness of thy own soul as Job did Job 7.11 Sect. 12 Now I shall answer these objections Answ which thou hast made four several ways and the first is by a comfortable perswasion Alass poor soul thou hast made a pitiful complaint not knowing the minde and love of thy heavenly Father in his dealings towards thee thou judgest according to thy sense and so indeed thy outward miseries seem grievous And this was the Churches fault in the Prophet Isaiahs time And Zion said The Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me Isai 49.14 Hearken now Christs is neer in troubles to help his that they faint not O poor soul and behold thy God in Christ bids thee break forth into singing for he hath graven thee upon the palms of his hands and thou art continually in his eye and his mercy is round about thee when thou art afflicted he stands but behinde the curtain though thou think he is far off yet he is there to be thy protector Isai 49.13 15 16. And he will step into thee and acquaint thee with his minde and dealings towards thee and when this is thou shalt be a delightsome land or as a fragrant Garden full of sweet smells unto thy God Mal. 3.12 Now it is Gods minde and will that thou shalt suffer for Christ sakes as well as to beleeve on him that thou mayest be like unto him Phil. 1.29 For he doth teach his Disciples to pray Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Matth. 6.10 And it was his own practice O father saith he if thou be willing remove this cup from me nevertheless not my will but thine be done Luke 22.42 But for this cause came I unto this hour Father glorifie thy Name John 12.27 28. Now let me tell thee
thou receivest such food that thou art able to go fourty days in the strength of it to incounter with new troubles again One word more unto thee that seemest to be discontented in thy troubles when they are more then ordinary Thou oughtest to be contented and to rejoyce in them and if they seem too hard for thee so that thou begin to wrastle with them then there will appear thy God An angel from Heaven to strengthen thee and to uphold thee in the hour of thy distress Luke 22.43 Now in the second place I shall confirm what I have said by Scripture Every son of love must have his dross taken away As many as I love I rebuke and chasten Revel 3.19 Now by rebuke and chasten it is not to be understood that every trouble and affliction is so a rebuke from God God is as good as his word not to remember sin because he is satisfied that it is a punishment for sin no for this would be to remember sin again but God hath said He will remember their sins no more Heb. 8.12 Iere. 31.34 Because Christ hath paid a full price for all our sins and he hath crossed the Book and God is fully satisfied Isai 53.11 Now I tell thee O distressed man or woman God having brought a whole train of graces into thy soul he will exercise them for his own honor and for thy good and if there be any rust at any time upon thy graces Christ sits as a refiner of silver and he will purifie thy graces as gold Mal. 3.2 3. Now the end of exercising thy graces is that thou thy self mayest know that thou hast grace and that the world may know that thou hast grace Chastisements are for the exercise of Faith and Graces Now thou having grace art to exercise thy grace in glorying in tribulations knowing that tribulation worketh patience and experience of the sufferings of Christ of which thou must be partaker that thou mayest come to a lively hope through Christ and this hope maketh not ashamed Rom. 5.3 4 5. Now the miseries Sect. 3 and the calamities and the afflictions that do fall upon a true beleeving man or woman it is not as punishment for sin for that were to lay iniquities afresh upon Christ our surety again Isai 53.6 Mistake me not I do not in the least give any liberty to sin for if patience have its perfect work it makes you perfect and intire wanting nothing but that which doth befal thee in this life it is for the tryal of thy faith and for the exercise of thy graces and if any thing doth befal thee which the world calls sin then comes in the tryal of thy faith and lets thee see the wiles of Satan and the sin that is in thy flesh and then thy faith calls for all thy graces and then thou goest to Jesus Christ the Captain of thy salvation who hath subdued all thy sins who doth subdue all thy sorrows who will subdue all thy griefs Heb. 2.10 11. And thus thy graces are exercised and for this God will be honored before the world because the world shall know that he doth uphold thee with his grace and is with thee in a promise And when thou passest through the waters he will be with thee and when thou goest through the rivers they shall not overflow thee because he is with thee and when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt because he is with thee neither shall the flame kindle upon thee because he is with thee Isai 43.2 Now this man Christ Christ is as a privy Chamber for the soul to retire into to refresh it self God and man he is an hiding place for a poor distressed soul to go into from the wrath and fury of the men of the world and so he is a covering for a poor distempered spirit that is troubled with sin and Satan fears and doubts and as rivers of water in a dry place are sweet and comfortable and pleasant even so is Christ unto a thirsty soul And as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land even so is Jesus Christ unto a poor panting drouping fainting weary spirit Isai 32.2 Now thou poor soul that hast such a very present help in time of need therefore thou needest not fear read Psal 46.1 2. but count it all joy when thou fallest into divers sorts of troubles and temptations knowing this that the trying of thy faith worketh patience And this is a needful grace in this troublesom world read Jam. 1.2 3 4. Now in the third place I shall give thee O poor soul an instance and an example of what I have said I says an experienced Christian am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ and this Iohn said Revel 1.9 And so saith an exercised Christian I brought nothing into this world but sin The Lord gives tryals and takes away troubles as be pleases and that I shall leave in the grave The Lord gives tryals and the Lord takes away troubles Blessed be the name of the Lord saith Job Iob 1.21 Now a Christian that hath been in the mount with God Sect. 4 can tell how to speak good of his name when he comes into a wilderness of troubles as Moses and John did and as Christ doth so doth a true Christian Christ comes and saith The commodities of Christ are his graces and they run forth freely to sinners Buy my white raiment my righteousness to clothe thee that thy nakedness do not appear and anoint thine eyes with my grace that thou mayest see And thus Christ sets forth his commodities in the market places and in the fairs amongst men and saith I beseech you come and buy my riches my honor my riches will endure for ever I intreat you to take my commodities you shall have them without money and without price and if you take my commodities your soul shall live Revel 3.18 Isai 55.1 2 3 4. Prov. 8.18 19 31. Now Most men complement and dissemble with Jesus Christ the most men and women in the world they come and complement with Christ and his commodities it may be his ordinances and they will come and hear him as Felix did Paul But they have no minde at this time to buy his commodities for they have married a wife and bought a yoke of oxen and they cannot stay now but they will come some convenient season and call for him And thus the most men and women do in a formal customary way go to Church and so come home again and make a little verbal discourse but leave Christ and his members it may be in prison and in misery out of some dislike against them and to shew some a favor as Felix was willing to shew the Iews a pleasure and left Paul bound Acts 24.24 25 27. And thus for all the fair pretences of some men for Christ yet they
are like his Citizens or those Citizens that hated him and sent a messenger after him saying We will not have this man to reign over us Luke 19.14 And thus Jesus Christ coming nigh to Jerusalem and suppose to London he added and spake a parable for at Jerusalem there were the chief Priests and Pharisees the politick Scribe and the subtle Lawyer and all the sotish people together against Christ Matth. 27.1 62 63. Luke 11.45 Iere. 4.22 And these were his Citizens I ask may not one say so of a great many of our Citizens that did frequent Guildhal in that troublesom time when it was as much as a mans life was worth though he were a good Christian to be under the name of an Independent in that multitude But now hearken what Christ saith to such Citizens But those mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them bring hither Luke 19.27 I have not spoken of the sentence which Christ gave in the end of this verse but I shall conclude with that of Abraham And Abraham said unto God O that Ishmael might live before thee Gen. 17.18 Sect. 5 A man that hath not the love of God in his heart can neither speak well of God nor act well for Christ but the believing man he doth as Christ hath done he comes in with his proclamation and gives a good report of Christ and his graces Christ saith Come and buy without money Now this buying is but an exchanging of thy sins and thy lust for grace to adorn thy soul Christ in thee will take thy sins and nail them to his cross and then take them from his cross and throw them into his grave and there they shall die and thou shalt have possessions of grace for them and this is a good change for thee Now the living man A man that hath bin in the Mount with God gives a most excellent repert of his graces the believing Christ-like man he comes and gives a most excellent report of this grace and saith unto all Come take this grace thou mayest have it freely thou needest not to labor and toyl for it and when you have this grace it will inable you to run into Christ who is the way of Gods Commandments and when thou art straitned in thy heart and thoughts towards God then this grace will inlarge thy heart and when thou art withered as a tree in Winter or as a dry tree then this grace will so refresh thee that thou wilt be as green as a tree in Summer that is planted by the Rivers of water And so likewise this grace will cause thee to see sin in thy self Grace discovers sin every day more then other and thou in thy self not able for to resist sin But this grace will be sufficient for thee in thy weakness so that thou mayest rejoyce in thy infirmities because this grace of Christ is made perfect in thy weakness 2 Cor. 12.9 10. This grace inables a man to wrestle with spiritual wickedness or wicked spirits for Christ stands about thee as the Armor of God so that the wiles of the devil cannot peirce thorow to hurt thy poor soul Christ the power of God is a Christians might Ephel 6.10 because thou standest in Christ the power of Gods might Ephes 6.10 11 12 13. And this grace is a girdle of truth about thy loyns and Christ is thy brest-plate of righteousness through which no dart of wickedness can enter and thy feet are shod with the grace of the Gospel of peace so that thou mayst tread upon the Lyon and Adder and they shall not bite thee Ephes 6.14 15. Psal 91.13 to the end And so likewise this grace is as a shield to inable thee against danger and to inable thee to do great things as those Worthies did in the eleventh of Hebrews Now Christ is the Fountain of this grace and he is the helmet of salvation over thy head so that those that strike at thee strike Christ first But he will be too hard for them and so thou hast the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God Now Christ is the Sword and the Spirit and the living Word of God and this Word is God and this God is a Spirit and none but he can comfort thy Spirit in time of need Ephes 6.16 17. John 1.1 4.24 15.26 And so likewise this grace will inable a man or a woman to take pleasure in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses in revilings in mockings even in imprisonments And this grace will inable a man to take pleasure in all maner of troubles because when we are weak in our selves then Christ is our strength 2 Corinth 12.10 4. read the whole Chapter Now those that have the tryal of this grace Sect. 6 finde it to be a very precious balsam a salve that will heal every sore therefore David saith Come all you that have the Lord for your portion is not his grace very comfortable and as marrow and fatness in your bones Come let us speak to the honor of his grace Psal 66.16 Come thou likewise that art the greatest sinner that ever the earth did bear Come though thou hast seven devils in thee as Mary Magdalen had The greatest sinner may have hope in Christ for cure Luke 8.2 3. Come to Jesus Christ for he calls and his grace is sufficient to heal thee for I tell thee his grace is a soveraign Antidote O it is a precious balsam it will cure every disease it will heal any sore Be of good cheer wherefore dost thou doubt I will speak a word of comfort in thine ear When Christ is risen in thy heart thou shalt know his appearance he will appear first unto thee that wast a great sinner sooner then he will to others And this is for thy comfort For when Jesus was risen early he appeared first to Mary Magdalen out of whom he had cast seven Devils read Mark 16.9 Come you likewise whether you be young men or old men Come you young men that were too forward at Westminster and at the Parliament door and afterward at Guildhal for some days together thrusting men up and down from pillar to post under the name of Sectaries or Independents saying it was not fit that they should live in the City neither could they stand safe or quiet by you though they were good Christians May not one say of you as Paul said of himself when he was Saul That you were exceedingly mad against them to persecute them even unto strange Cities Acts 26.9 10 11. And yet you called for Reformation like unto Saul And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young mans feet whose name was Saul and they stoned Steven Acts 7.57 58 59. Yet for all this come to Jesus Christ his grace is so soveraign a plaister that it will heal this wound Come his grace will make up this breach it may be it was done
brim-full of this grace of Christ that he may love the brotherhood that is the union between Christ and his Church and that we may have all the fear of God and then we shall honor the King Jesus Christ and honor all men The King as supreme and Governors under him 1 Pet. 2.13 14 17. Now this grace of Christ will move the Kings heart to be like a nursing father and to say as David said But these sheep what have they done But these thousands of poor harmless subjects that have been stain in England and Ireland what have they done I shall easily be intreated now to part with any thing or to do any thing to preserve those my poor subjects that are alive that they may have a firm and a lasting peace and live quietly all their days And thus Davia reasoned with the Lord as you may read 2 Sam. 24.17 24. Now this grace will help us to do more then a Covenant of our own making Therefore let us pray to God that he would be pleased to pour into the hearts of the King and Parliament abundance of his grace that they may be like unto Solomon in dividing of their great affairs for the peace of the kingdom and that with speed even as Solomon did with the two harlots in seeming to divide the childe the right mother came to enjoy her own childe Now amongst all your divisions the Lord teach you to maintain the priviledg of free Subjects and that every man may enjoy his own in peace Now if the wisdom and grace of Christ be in you it will teach you as it did Solomon To give the living childe to the right mother and this will make you famous 1 King 3.16 26 27 28. Now what hath been said Sect. 9 must be done with speed delays are dangerous the Kingdom is weary it begins for the kick and there are many evil tongues abroad the Lord keep us that we may not be devoured like unto Germany For the prevention of which the Lord teach you and inable you for to keep one right Fasting day to the Lord which is to loose the bands of wickedness and to undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free and that ye break every yoke and deal your bread to the hungry and bring the poor into their possessions again and to relieve the naked and hide not your selves from your own flesh for matter of opinion and if you take away from the midst of you the yoke the putting forth of the finger and the speaking of vanity by some of the ignorant and sottish Clergy and those that stand to do justice and do none read Isai 58.2 6 7 9. Zech. 7.5 6 9 10. Now when the grace and Spirit of Jesus Christ doth come all these things will vanish away as the mist doth before the Sun and then your light shall break forth as the morning and the health of the Kingdom shall spring forth speedily and your righteous judgments shall go before you and the glory of the Lord shall be your rereward and when you cry the Lord will say here I am to help you Now God in Christ he is the good Physitian that brings health and cure to Kingdoms and Cities and bids the inhabitants dwell in peace and go forth with their flocks for he will satisfie the weary souls and replenish every sorrowful soul And when a Kingdom or a particular person do arise and behold this then their sleep will be sweet unto them as it was to Jeremiah Isai 58.8 9. Jere. 31.24 25 26. Now some will object and say Object That I seem to upbraid the Clergy with speaking vanity and with being full of ignorance and sotishness I answer Answ nay rather the Prophets and the Apostles they answer for the speaking of vanity and using deceit by the most of the Prophets in their time which stole their words from their neighbor and say God saith read Ezek. 13.7 8 9 10. Jere. 23.30 31 32. 14.18 50.6 A Ministry not built upon Christ in the Spirit doth not profit the people for they seek themselves and not the peoples souls read Ezek. 34.2 3 4. And so likewise these Prophets and Priests and people for the most part are possessed with ignorance and sottishness as you may read and consider well of it Jere. 4.22 5.30 31. If I go forth into the field saith the true Prophet then behold the slain with the sword And if I enter into the City then behold them that are sick with famine yea both the Prophet and the Priest go about into a Land that they know not Or make merchandise As the Margent of the Bible reads it as the Margent reads it against a Land and the sottish people acknowledg it not Iere. 14.18 Now you will say it is true Sect. 10 there were such Prophets Priests formerly but you hope there are none such now I shall answer you nay rather the Apostle Peter shall answer you There were false prophets formerly saith he and there will be and are false teachers among you even at this day which come to you in sheeps clothing saith Christ and use fair and enticing words and yet are ignorant and sottish concerning me saith Christ himself Beware of such teachers for they are blinde guides saith Christ 2 Pet. 2.1 2 3. Matth. 7.15 21 22 23. 15.13 14. A Ministry built onely upon Letters I mean the Letter of the World and so speak or preach external words which may be got by natural industry and art But this learning onely and no more with it will neither profit themselves nor the people Now such kinde of learning as this the most part of the Episcopal or the Prelatical Clergy hath and some of the Presbyterians together with some of the Independents but especially the Minister of the Common-Prayer Book Mistake me not The Auditory of the Common Prayer Book for the most part are like little children that learn to say their lesson after their Master and so they are weak in knowledg like young children I speak not against any thing that is good in that Book but I speak of the unsufficiency of such a Minister or Ministers and then of the peoples weakness and ignorance in a customary way like unto little children they go to School to learn their letters and after a short time it may be they can say over an Epistle and a Gospel by rote and understand but little or nothing at all and it may be they can say over some Prayers without book when their Minister it may be cannot do so much And this hath been the custom and the rejoycing of the most people in this Kingdom and it is so now at this day in this City In some Parishes they rejoyce in that easie Common-Prayer Book I call it easie because a childe of six yeers old may read it over And this they rejoyce in as the publike Service of God when it may
Word with a humane courage but they cannot give the sense of the Pearl in this Box or Cabinet or Field They cannot expound the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ as Paul did and for want of this in many places of this Kingdom the people are like the Athenians ignorantly worshiping God or more grosly and superstitiously setting up Altars to the unknown God Acts 17.22 23. Yet these people have had the Service Book all their days and they will have it still and remain ignorant with it and so the proverb holds true Like Priest like people But mark you dark-sighted Ministers Sect. 2 over such a people My people have been lost sheep saith the Lord their shepherds have caused them to go astray Iere. 50.6 A Minister to be unskilful in the Gospel of Grace begets ignorance in a people ignorance in a people makes them unstedfast Now such a people will sooner fight against the Truth and speak against the Truth then they will entertain the Truth or speak a good word for the Truth Happy is such a people that have an able Minister of the New Testament A Minister sent from the Spirit of Christ is the most excellent Minister not of the Letter but of the Spirit for such a ministry or such a Minister is the most excellent Minister for he cares for the souls of men and would be spent for them and the more he loves them the less he is loved of them 2 Cor. 3.6 12.14 15. Now the reading Minister onely of the Common-Prayer Book and the imitating preaching Minister that preaches litterally legally historically and artificially These two are both alike and they both seek themselves But it may be some will take exception at this word imitating But I shall give you two instances for it One in the Old Testament Two instances and another in the New The false Prophets of Baal did imitate to do as the true Prophet Elijah did they could chuse one Bullock for a sacrifice and cut it in peices and lay the wood together and lay the Bullock upon the Altar but they wanted fire from Heaven they had no light in them as the true Prophet had read 1 Kings 18.23 24 25 26 27 28 29 33 38. The second instance is out of the New Testament Some indeed imitate to do as the true Apostles did but they cannot so then they preach Christ out of envy and some out of strife Phil. 1.15 16. 3.2 Now these two sorts of Ministers are self-seeking men as I shall give you instances both from City and Country and from Scriptures Now these self-seeking men seek great Benefices of six or seven hundred pounds a yeer and then they will take the Charge and the Cure of twenty or thirty thousand souls as you may take an instance in Cripplegate Parish London And so likewise in divers places of the Country where there are great Benefices and their Minister takes this but the poor people have little or nothing but the Book of Common-Prayer or the reading of a Homily or the like And thus they cure themselves and take the charge of the people but the poor people are still uncured This the Lord takes notice of and complains and saith His people perish for want of knowledg they are sottish children they have no knowledg of God in Christ Is not this the condition of a great part of this Kingdom They are wise to do evil but to do good they have no knowledg read Iere. 4.22 5.31 A ministry taken up onely from men or a Minister sent out onely from men such kind of men seek themselves and not the flock they feed themselves and not the flock they heal themselves they wound the flock they bind up themselves they break the flock they bring in to themselves they scatter the flock they seek themselves and they lose the flock they are not able to strengthen the weak but with force and with cruelty have they ruled them or do rule them and is not this the seeking of vanity and the speaking of vanity read Ezek. 34.2 3 4. Phil. 3.18 19. Sect. 3 Shal I now crave leave to speak a word in particular unto you that are Ministers only of the Common Prayer Book I tel you that you are not like Ministers of Christ nor like Christ in his Ministry For he stood up to read a place of Scripture unto the people And when he had read the verse he closed the Book and sat down to teach the people And the eyes of all them that were in the Synagogue were fastned on him and all bare him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth read Luk. 4.16 17 18 19 20 21 22. Now it is to be feared that you which are Ministers only of the Common Prayer Book if the book should be closed up to you all the people might bear you witness that they could not hear one word of grace from you and so you would not be like unto the Ministry of Christ nor like unto the Ministers of Christ For Ezra the Priest and those that were with him caused the people to understand the Law so they read in the book of the Law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading read Nehem. 8.2 3 4 5 6 7 8. Now if the people should expect as much from you that are Ministers of the Common Prayer Book as Ezra the Priest did who was a Minister of Jesus Christ how unlike the Ministers of Christ would the people find you Now I shal desire to speak a word joyntly unto you that are Ministers of the Common Prayer Book and unto you that are imitating preaching Ministers A note agreeable for our times Historical men Litteral men such a Christ wil not own for the present read Mat. 7.21 22 23. I desire likewise to joyn your hearers unto you and so to speak a word unto you all three Now the word is by way of question as the Prophet Isaiah speaks of Now the question is unto you that are Ministers only of the Common Prayer Book and no more and you that are imitating preaching Ministers and no more and you that are hearers and discern no better Are not the Scriptures that you so much read over and talk of The lively part of the Scriptures is as a book sealed to natural men though never so learned become as the words of a Book that is sealed which men deliver to one that is learned saying Read this I pray thee and he saith I cannot for it is sealed And this book is delivered to him that is not learned saying Read this I pray thee and he saith I am not learned read Isa 29.11 12. I would it were not so now in our days with the Ministers of the Common Prayer Book and with the imitating preaching Ministers which are historical men artificial men fine Theoricians to whom the Scriptures seem to
the false doctrines of the men of the world And now I wil cal thee a ful soul in the close of all that I shal say unto thee God hath fitted thee with a fulness of himself so that thou art a compleat body The fulness of him that filleth all in all Now this is a wonder and a great mystery to the world That the Church should be the fulness of God in Christ That a poor soul should be the fulness of Christ which filleth all in all All the rivers run into the sea yet the sea it self is not ful Eccles 1.7 All the rivers of grace and glory come from God who is the fountain and the great sea into which these rivers run again and yet God who is the fountain is not capable of being filled the fuller The Church which is the Body of Christ which is filled with all the fulness of God and is the fulness of him which filleth all in all Eph. 3.17 18 19. 1.22 23. Now this is a great mystery but I have spoken concerning Christ and his Church read Eph. 5.32 I have in much weakness received a little strength and I have in much dimness received a little sight to see faln man the old man the corrupt man brought to the Cross of Christ and there to dye and then from the Cross into the grave and there to lie and put off the old man the corrupt grave clothes of the soul and then to rise the third day which is the Lords day which day is Christ But first we must suffer and be crucified with Christ and then we shal rise with Christ and be glorified together with Christ read Rom. 8.17 And then we shal know the power of the resurrection of Iesus Christ read Phil. 3.10 11. And this is a Christians glory to be made a new creature in Iesus Christ Gal. 6.14 15. Now to conclude Sect. 10 I have taken notice of many things which by some are called Error and Heresie Antinomianism Familism and then Sectaries But under these reproachful names there may and do lie hid many glorious truths And I have observed that there are many which wil charge a man with Error and Heresie when he speaks the Truth and so make a man an offender for a word and say he is in an Error Isa 29.20 21. As it was said of that eminent and truly religious man Dr Crisp by name and many others besides him But after the way which some cal Heresie so saith the Apostle worship a the God of my fathers beleeving all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets Acts 24.13 14. We have an old Proverb amongst us That the blind eat flies Now if the blind feed the blind they are both likely to eat hay stubble and chaff in steaâ— of manna By manna I mean Christ and by hay stubble and chaff I mean a natural gravity in years and an artificial form of holiness before the eyes of men and a feeding upon mans own actings workings good meanings and good endevors This is an Error and much in use And this is an earthly Christ which most men lean upon It is not the being old in years that makes a Minister of Christ though never so learned but to be grave in grace and in the knowledg of Christ Now those that know not Christ wil take up any to be their guide or Minister and say they understand them Now I wonder that the ministry of Christ is so little understood amongst most men but the Spirit of God wil shew the reason Read these Scriptures Matthew 23.24 and Chap. 15.14 The first Epistle to the Corinthians Chap. 3. Vers 12. Revel 3.17 Matthew 19.20 21. Jeremiah 5.31 The first Epistle to the Corinthians Chap. 2. Verses 6 7. NOw the occasion of all Errors amongst us is because most men know not the true Christ and if men know not the true Christ then they wil make unto themselves many falâ—e Christs such as their good medning is and their prayers and fastings and their alms-deeds and their own good endevors to please God as the Pharisee did Luke 18.11 12. And if men know not the true Christ then they cannot know the true Ministry of Christ for the Ministry of Christ is an able spiritual Ministry of the New Testament 2 Cor. 3.6 Now for the proof of this Ministry The ministry of Christ proved Christ his ministry always together Christ and this Ministry are always together and that in your hearts always teaching you saith the Apostle except you have not as yet heard of Christ nor as yet known Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 13.3 4 5. Now if men know not the Ministry of Jesus Christ then they are subject to take the wisdom of men for their Ministry and to take humane learning for their Ministry 1 Cor. 2.4 5. And thus Antichrist is crept into the world But it is not every learned man that comes up into a Pulpit and saith Lord Lord that makes a Minister of Christ yet such a man may prophecy and preach of Christ and do many things in his name and yet for all this not know Christ False Christs are within a man as wel as without a man 1 Tim. 6 9 10. Luk. 12 20 21. Mat. 24.24 nor have any acquaintance with him neither doth Christ approve of him and if Christ approve not of him God will root him up as you may read Matth. 7.21 22 23. 15.13 14. For such a man is but a blind leader of the people though the people think that he sees Luke 6.39 40. CHAP. XIV The Spiritual Opening and Application of these Scriptures VIZ. Psal 27.4 5. Luke 10.42 John 4.10 14 32. Rev. 4.6 7 8. Acts 22.24 25. Heb. 5.11 12 13 14. Jerem. 5.30 31. 4.22 Isai 6.1 2 3. Rev. 1.10 13 19. 4.6 7 8. John 20.11 12 13 14 15 16. Iohn 7.37 38 39. Acts 7.55 56. Heb. 12.22 23 24. Psal 45.9 2 Tim. 3.12 Mat. 10.36 1 Pet. 4.16 17 18 19. Psa 73.25 26 28. 1 Iohn 1.3 4. Iohn 16.32 33. Gal. 6.1 2. 2 Sam. 23.3 Isai 49.23 Psal 78.70 71 72. 1 Tim. 2.1 2. 2 Sam. 23.3 Ruth 2.7 8 9. Ruth 2.18 1 Iohn 2.20 21. Iohn 3.8 Psal 45.1 Cant. 2.3 4.16 Matth. 10.19 20. Joh. 17.23 Joh. 14.10 Mat. 10.20 Act. 3.6 Psal 66.16 Ruth 2.15 16. Psalm 103.1 Rev. 5.13 14. Christ is the best thing in the worst times No man can give him and no man can take him away Christ is the only good thing he wil make a man wise and rich and ful of all good things in time of need which no man can take away Christ is the free gift of God and not for men to get as some men teach NOw the best thing in troublesom times is to have one good thing nay the only good thing which heaven and earth can afford for which one needs not to be beholding to either King Parliament Army Synod or
City for they can neither give this good thing nor hinder the one thing needful nor take away this free gift of God which wil make a man free in troublesom times An Use of sweet comfort Now Christ is the good thing and the one thing needful and the free gift of God and the substance of Religion within a man and by his Spirit he wil be a Wel of living water springing up into everlasting life within the soul and spirit of a man And this wil be meat and drink spiritual which the world knows not of This wil refresh a man in the time of greatest troubles and the world cannot take this sweet food away Psal 27.4 5. Luke 10.42 John 4.10 14 32. And though men of all sorts be striving now for externals in matters of Religion meer circumstances shadows that wil flie away Yet amongst these men there are two sorts of men which may be divided into four sorts of men and these four sorts of men may be all the servants of Christ as those four beasts were which you may read of Rev. 4.6 7 8. And these four sorts of men may be divided into two parts comparatively as Presbyterians and Independents Now if you wil divide the Presbyterians into two parts you shal find them acting like unto those two first beasts which I before spake of And the first beast is like a Lion and the second beast like a Calf and the third beast had a face as a man and the fourth beast was like a flying Eagle Now the first part of the Presbyterians did not they begin to move Lion-like with majesty speed and roughness and did not some of them say as the chief Captain said of Paul Let him be brought into the Castle and be examined by scourging only they wanted power read Acts 22.24 25. The second part of the Presbyterians moves like a Calf that is more slowly more moderately and with less harm Now divide the Independents into two parts and the first of them moves and hath a face like a man that is more rational more temperate more condescending in the worship of God to do as he would be done by Now the second part of the Independents moves like an Eagle that is flying high even unto the third Heaven where Christ is where they see things unutterable and ful of glory and for this they depend only upon God and herein they are not Independents as some cal them But now the Lion-like and the Calf-like and he that had the face like a man begin to raise troubles and jealousies against him that is Eagle-like because say they he flies too high we cannot discern him nor agree with him But shal I now Sect. 2 as a friend give you a reason why you cannot discern him that is like an Eagle it is because you are dul of hearing and are unskilful in the word of righteousnes for ye are as babes for strong meat belongeth to them that are of ful age even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil as you may read heb 5.11 12 13 14. And thus our dul-headed Prelatical Clergy for the most part were wont to cal those that were Eagle-like Puritans and now at this time they cal them Roundheads and others there are that cal them Familists and Sectaries Now here are three that are striving in the world and make a great deal of stir about circumstances and things which wil change And the first is the Presbytery and they are striving for preeminence and for a form to sit easie on Now the second is the Independents which would fain have their own way but they shal suffer for it if some had but power Now while these two are striving the third party which is the Episcopal or the Prelatical party or Priests comes in with their long black gowns coats A ministry not coming out from Christ is not Christian but Antichristian that loves not the flock for they cannot feed the flock Mar. 13.21 22 23 1 Joh. 4.1 2 3. John 21.15 16 17. skarfs and girdles with roses at them as though they were singular above all other men and they bring in their easie common Service Book and an old Homily or a Sermon preached over and over and it may be never the better a piece of art which they for the most part study and this art doth consist of Rhetorick that is to be elegant and to speak plausible words though it may be they are but little acquainted with the lively part of divine Theology but only the Theorick they are fine Theoricians that is they can speak much of that which they can practise little or nothing of and with this the most people in this Kingdom are wel pleased Take an Instance Jere. 5.30 31. 4.22 And thus these three are striving for external things meer outsides circumstances fig leaves And thus these three feed upon low mean food but some of them I hope do feed upon true food though like babes weakly But for the most part of these three which I have spoken of they feed upon low earthly food as outside forms with little or no love in them or as it were A ministry that hath Christ in possession witnesseth a good profession of Christ in Faith Verity 1 Tim. 6.11 12 13. with gilded fig leaves and the like But now the Eagle-like or the man that is like the flying Eagle he is about the throne of God and feeds upon Angels food Isai 6.1 2 3. Now such a man doth the work of Angels because he is in the Spirit as John was on the Lords day which day is Jesus Christ Rev. 1.10 13 19. 4.6 7 8. Now such a man feeds upon delicate spiritual food in the heaven of God Sect. 3 which heaven is Christ Now such a beleeving man or woman takes no delight in the box except the pearl be therein It is not the beautiful box that such a soul takes delight in but it is the pearl Christ or Christ the pearl that the soul is fixed upon as you may instance in Mary It was not the two glorious Angels sitting in white that gave Mary content but she remains weeping and enquiring for her Lord Christ and when Christ began to speak to her he so spake to her heart that her soul ecchoed again to him and she said Master O Master thou art he whom my soul loveth John 20.11 12 13 14 15 16. Now the only good thing in troublesom times and in the hour of distress and in sad temptations is to have rivers of living Water living comforting water of life which Christ gives Now this water is the Spirit the Spirit of comforts or the gracious comforting Spirit read John 7.37 38 39. Now this sweet water of life is comfortable in sickly times but especially upon the sick bed when a man comes to lie upon his dying pillow then to have this sweet Spirit
labor toiling nor by industry they are not got by studying in a great Library but they are the incomes of God into the souls of men that in a moment 1 Tim. 3.16 Mat. 10.19.20 Joh. 7.38 39. 16.13 14 15. And this shal be to the praise of my good God as David doth express Psa 45.1 And I sat under the healing of Christs wings with great delight Cant. 2.3 And the North wind did blow that is the Spirit did blow in or upon my garden or heart and then the spices and the graces and the flowers did grow out and then my soul with Christ did feed upon his pleasant fruits which were very sweet to my taste Cant. 4.16 And now beloved Christian I have gathered a posie of sweet flowers out of the living Word of God for you to smel upon And yet I neither labored nor toyled for them nor wrought for them neither did I get them by my study but they were given me freely and that in a moment for they were brought into my hand or heart and droped down one by one and I was inabled and taught the same hour to gather them up with great delight Mat. 10.19 20. Now I shal conclude and give all honor glory and praise unto God my Father as my sweet Savior Christ did and that by way of union for every true Beleever is in the Father read John 17.23 and the Father is in every true Beleever and the words which they speak they speak not of themselves but the Father that dweleth in them he speaketh the words read John 14.10 Mat. 10.20 Come beloved Christian and I wil declare Beloved Christians silver and gold have I none but such as my God hath given me such I give unto you for the honor of Christ my Lord and your Lord Acts 3.6 to the glory and praise of the Lord my good God what he hath done for me and by me Psa 66.16 how bountifully he hath dealt with me even as Boaz did with Ruth Let her glean saith he even among the sheaves and reproach her not and let fal also some of the handfuls of purpose for her and leave them that she may glean them and rebuke her not Ruth 2.15 16. Even so bountifully hath the sweet Spirit of God dealt with me he hath brought me in amongst the sheaves to glean nay he hath let handfuls fal of purpose for me to take up this is the good wil of my God He doth open the mouth of the soul wide and then he doth feed it with spiritual food God like a mother doth open the mouth of the soul and then he doth feed it with his divine sweetnesses then the soul saith Bless the Lord. He doth all for the soul and he doth all in the soul and he is all unto the soul Therefore bless the Lord O my soul as David said and all that is within me bless his holy Name Psa 103.1 Rev. 5.13 14. And to this every Christ-baptized soul wil answer and say Amen So be it IF Christ thou truly know thou art not poor He that hath Christ hath all though in the worlds eye he seem to have nothing He wil suffice thee though thou hast no more If Christ be hid from thee thou art not wise All other knowledg is not truth but lyes THE CONTENTS Of this BOOK Directing to the Chapters Sections and Pages where they are spoken to CHAP. I. THe Scriptures insisted on set down Page 1 2. The difference betwixt freedom without and freedom within P. 2 3. Sect. 1. The leaven of the Pharisees ancient and modern opened and advised against Pag. 3 4. § 2. The danger of zeal without knowledg P. 4. § 3. Many deal with Christ as Ziba with his Master divide or make bargains with him P. 5. S. ib. A sweet thing to stand on Christ alone P. ib. § 4. Self-righteousness and Christs weighed together in the ballance Page 6 7. § 5. Confidence in the flesh a cloud that darkens the sun of righteousnes in men P. 7 8. S. 6. There 's a poor rich man and a rich poor man P. 9. S. ib. The speech of Christ upon his coming down from heaven P. ib. S. ib. Why the testimony of Christ is not received P. 10. S. 7. The Pharisee thrusts out Christ of his prayer and wil be heard for his own sake P. 11 12. S. ib. To be something in our selves a principle of corrupt nature but to be nothing a principle of divine grace P. 13. S. ib. A Pharisee hangs upon every thing he doth P. 14. CHAP. II. THe Scriptures insisted on set down Page 15. Sect. 1. Who represent the chief Priests and Pharisees in these times 15 16 S. ib. Christ the Law and the life of the Law P. 17. The followers of Christ suffer from the stricter sort P. 17. Where men bite and devour one another as in these times Christ is not P. 18. S. 2. All 's but a shadow where Christ is not P. 18. The different arguing with God betwixt a beleever and an unbeleever P. 19. Christ the way of God to man and of man to God P. 21. As the spider the Pharisee leans upon his own building P. 23. S. 3. Men have pulld down outward but have set up inward Idolatry in these times P. 24. CHAP. III. THe Scriptures insisted on set down P. 24 25 Sect. 1. God wil not accept of any thing besides Christ P. 26. Christ the golden censer in the which the prayers of the Saints are P. ib. What 't is to come to God with strange fire as Nadab and Abihu did P. 27 § 2. How the Pharisees cloath themselves and how God cloaths his people P. 29. The outside Christian discovered by the figtree that had leaves only P. ib. Men strive about ordinances but have Christ in contempt they are like the soldiers that put him to death but strove about his rayment P. 30. Ordinances without Christ are as clothes about dead men P. 31. An expression in the morning exercise London modestly reprehended P. 31. § 3. The Pharisee like the hen having done his duty tels all about him P. 32. § 4. The Pharisee Papist and outside Christian all alike P. 33 34 Who are enabled of the Father to worship him P. 34. How men become idolaters even with the Scriptures themselves P. 34 35. A mercy to have the Word but a greater to have the Spirit of the Word among us P. 35. § 5. That the Spirit of Christ is scarce to be found amongst us P. 36 Not to be of one faction or another is offence enough in these days Page 37. A large debate with and about Mr Edwards touching his writings P. 37 38 39 40. That the Jews said as much against Christ as M. Edwards doth against his members P. 40 41 42. § 6. The course the world take to have a fling at the truth P. 42. It s to be feared Mr Edwards had but the letter not
actions 352. The City Remonstrance the cause of much evil 353. A sweet saving word to these troubles of the Land 354. That a man may be very zealous yet have neither faith nor love 355. How men are mistaken touching Church-fellowship 355. A word to the plunderers of Christians in these times P. 355. § 8. A word to the sottish and ignorant people of these times 356. Nothing but the grace of Jesus Christ can heal the Land 356. That our Phisitians King Parliament and Army have let the Kingdom blood but none but Christ can heal it 357. What will do the King good and in him the Land ibid. That the grace of God will do more then a Covenant of our own making 358. A word to the Parliament that they as Solomon give the living child to the right mother ibid. § 9. 'T is necessary that something be done with speed for the settling of the people 359. One right Fasting day would set all right ibid. Who are the obstructers of peace and truth in the Land ib. Vpon what account the Author upbrayds the ignorant and sottish Clergie for speaking lyes 360. Who hath made merchandize of the people Page 361. § 10. As there were in times past so there are now false teachers among our chief rabbies many ibid. VVhat is the learning the most of the Prelatical many of the Presbyterian and some of the Independent men lean on 362. Of the people devoted to the Common Prayer ibid. A miserable thing to be learned in the Letter only 363 That Jesus Christ is now come in the Spirit 364. That there is no other interpreter of the Scriptures but the holy Spirit 364. CHAP. XII THe Scriptures opened set down 365. § 1. There be three sorts of Ministers VVho preach for applause 367. Of Ministers that cannot expound the Scriptures Page 368. The Scriptures are a box of precious ointment but the most want a key to open it 369. § 2. Who be the true Ministers of Jesus Christ 370. Imitating Ministers who they be 371. How the people are deceived by their pretended Ministers 372. That the most Ministers feed themselves and not the flock 373. § 3. A word to the Common Prayer-book Ministers ibid. A Note agreeable to these times 374 Who they are to whom the Book of God is sealed 375. Whence ignorance and enmity doth arise 376. § 4. Of the common sort of hearers ibid. Of the nature and mystery of prayer 377. A spiritual Ministry the people are much offended with 378. § 5. Of the Ministers that have the mystery of God manifest in them 379. What alone will be able to make the heart of the King willing to yeeld to the Parliament 380. What will do the Parliament good 381. What is the glory of the King and Parliament 382 What alone is able to settle the three Kingdoms England Ireland and Scotland 382. § 6. A word to and of the Army 383 The Christian trusts God with his liberty 384. § 7. The strife betwixt Martha and Mary well opened and applied 385 386. The carnal Christian as Martha and Mary knows Christ as after off but the spiritual sees him nigh at hand 388 389. A note of great concernment 388. § 9. How the Almighty God vails himself that he may manifest himself to and in men 390. Christ is the living Word of God ibid. How God humbleth himself to do good to men 391. Whether Christ suffered in his divine nature an excellent similitude to open it 391. How God went in Christ before the chief Priest and Pontius Pilate yea into the grave with him 392. Sect. 10. The fellowship of Christs sufferings sweetly opened 393. How Christ is crucified in man and who have a hand in it 394. CHAP. XIII THe Scriptures spoken to set down 395. Sect. 1. How many men are zealous for God and yet have Christ in contempt 397. That many think they do God service in killing those in whom Christ appears 398. Sect. 2. That Christ hath as many enemies now as he had when he dyed at Golgotha 399. When Christ is born in the heart of men there is a Councel called there against him P. 400 Who be those that sit in councel in the heart of a man against Christ 402. That every man hath a Judas in his heart to betray Christ 403. Who it is that gives sentence against Christ in the heart of man ibid. § 4. How the Cross of Christ is in the heart of man and what is crucified thereon 404 405. The spiritual and first Resurrection opened 405. The vertue and power of Christs Cross in the heart of man 406. How Christ takes the soul into the grave with him ibid. § 5. What a blessed thing it is to be conformable to Christs death 407. A word to him that is arrived at the haven of life which is God himself 408. Here the Author takes his leave of the Reader 408. § 6. That the whole Church together are a Temple for God and the Lamb to dwell in ib. The true Christian enjoys God every where 409. Of the Gospelized man ibid. Of the various appearances of God to man P. 410. Of carnal Ordinances which profit not without Christ 411. That neither the learned nor unlearned will have cause to jeer at these expressions because after this manner Antichrist is disthroned 412. How God is Father Son and holy Spirit first and last 410 412. § 7. That the Christians see Christ as the Angels do 413. How the unity of the Spirit is kept in the Church through the knowledg of God 414 S. 8. How all good is from God 415 God wil renew the heart and make it as a chast virgin to bear Christ in the Spirit as well as the virgin Mary did bear Christ in the flesh 415 God comes down into every low condition to comfort a poor soul 416 S. 9. A note of great comfort to a poor soul 417 Ecclesiastes the first and the seventh sweetly applyed 418 The Authors Testimony concerning himself P. 418. S. 10. What the names of Errour and Heresie is a vail unto 419 Whence it is that many feed on hay and stubble in stead of Manna 420 Whence Errors and false christs arise 421. That Christ and his Ministry are still found together ib. That a Minister not rooted in Christ shall be rooted up 422. CHAP. XIV THe Scriptures opened set down 423. Christ is the best thing in the worst times ib. What 't is neither King or Parliament Army Synod or City can neither give nor take away 424. The vanity of mens strivings in these times about matters external and circumstantial in Religion 425. Presbyterians and Independents like unto the four beasts Revel 4.6 7 8. ib. Two sorts of Presbyterians The first like a Lion The second like a Calf 426. Two sorts of Independents the one like a man the other like an Eagle 426. The Lion-like the Calf-like and he that had the face like a man are offended at the Eagle-like Christian ib. The strife betwixt Presbyters Independents and Prelatical men 428. How they have not all the same food 429 Who they are that feed on Angels food ib. What gives fulness of comfort when a man lies on his death-bed 431. How all relations fail but that of a man to God in Christ ib. That a flood of the grace of our Lord Jesus running into the hearts of King and Parliament wil only heal the Land 432. § 4. The blessing of a right Magistracy 433 Sect. 5. What moved the Author to undertake this work 434. Boaz field in the which the Author as Ruth gleaned 435. Sect. 6. Of what sort of readers 't is the Author looks for acceptance 436. Of the sweet refreshing the Author had in writing this book ibid. That the writing of this book cost the Author no labor or study 437. The Author gives the glory of all to God 438. How God dealt with the Author as Boaz dealt with Ruth 438. That God opens the mouth of the soul and fills it as the mother deals with her child The Conclusion of all is Christ the fulness of all ERRATA PAg. 66. read sold their pot to pay their tythes P. 138. l. 5. r. thy P. 156. l. 10. supply not P. 182. l. 12. r. margent of the Bible P. 303. l. 5. supply have P. 328. l. 20. supply put P. 329. l. 1. r. unto P. 374. l. 27. r. as Possibly some other faults and false pointings have escaped which the Reader is desired to correct as he shall find them FINIS