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A75826
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An Awakening word to the churches, saints, and professors in this slumbring and sleepy day
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1664
(1664)
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Wing A4277A; ESTC R42642
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13,389
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18
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AN Awakening Word TO THE CHURCHES SAINTS AND PROFESSORS In this Slumbring and Sleepy Day Printed at London in the year 1664 A Brother in Tribulation and in the Kingdom and Patience of Jesus Christ To the Elect according to the fore-knowledge of God the Father called to sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Together with those yet uncalled or however distinguished or scattered greeting My Brethren and dearly loved in Jesus the Christ I Say the Truth in Christ I lie not my Conscience also bearing me witness in the holy Ghost that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow for you in my heart out of an earnest and true Christian-affection to you and an uncessant desire that you may prosper in soul and body and may be made fit and accounted worthy to stand with the Lamb at his appearing upon the Mount Sion But though I have very strong perswasions upon my heart that this Day of the Lord is very very very near even at the door yet I have a holy jealousie upon many and fear that multitudes whose Names are written in the Lambs Book of Life are wonderfully unfit and unprepared to meet their Lord. I am hereupon greatly pressed in my spirit to write in love to such as a Brother and beseech you in the bowels of Jesus Christ to accept it I have cause out of deep sence and sad experience in my self greatly to mourn over the sin and punishment of old Adam as it is manifest in me to this very day which exceedingly darkens the Glory of the New-Creation in me So that by that Old-man's abiding still with me I am greatly hindered from being so serviceable to Jesus Christ as I would be and much detained from those Comforts in Divine Injoyments through the Spirit which I desire I cannot indeed terminate the evil of the flesh in a person regenerate nor am I able to discover the wills of the natural heart or the advantages Satan hath by this Old man in the Saints But this I can say of my self through Grace That though I delight in the Law of God after the inward man yet I see another Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and worse also bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin which is in my Members So that here here I am driven out of self my best self and only by faith in the Promise and Covenant flee to the Mercy-Seat as sprinkled with the Blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world and so I can say with Paul I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord I say Our Lord and not only my Lord for he is Jesus to save all his People from their sins If this were only my particular state and case thus to be burdened with Corruption hindering me from good and inclining me to evil this humble Acknowledgement layes a bond upon you as Brethren joyntly to pray for me that I might be delivered from this body of death But alas I may I may say of you all what Paul writ to the Churches of Galatia The Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would but in many in many things we offend all I have the Lord knows tender bowels to all yet am I humbly bold to say That such Persons if any such be as dream of a Perfection in the flesh in this world are under dreadful delusions and give little testimony of the in-being of the Spirit in them though they pretend so much for it I judge if such an estate in this life in the estate of the flesh were attainable surely God would have magnified that degree of grace to some persons more or less at one time or other But I find it only recorded of Jesus Christ the only begotten of the Father who had no sin and in whose mouth was found no guile for he was God-man in whom the divine and humane Natures were united in one Person to make him a fit Mediator Jesus Christ must have the true Nature of sinful man to pay the price of sin and yet he must not have the sin of that Nature for then he had justly suffered for his own sin and had not been a competent Surety for sinners who must be himself harmless and holy Bear with me though I mention these first Principles of Religion in this day for though according to that Light of the Gospel which hath shined amongst us we might all have been Preachers yet by our corruptions together with Satans delusions we have sadly overslipped the day of the Gospel-Liberty and have gained little true spiritual Light God knows that most Saints I fear are babes and but babes in Christ at this day It will not now recal the day of Gospel-Liberty abused to recount Saints failings but I hope the smart of mis-spent time will help the Lord's People better to improve the day of mercy when mercy again restores them But the Lord knows well might Saints be overcome with heat of an unwonted if not unknown prosperity while they cannot keep close to God under the Rod. I intend not to stay upon this subject but if I mistake not greatly I discover some Professors and well it were if there were but some to be in danger by letting out their hearts too much in lawful things so called at least I mean in the cares and pleasures of this life O Friends I cannot but mourn deeply to see at this day so many formerly persons full of life and zeal for Christ now marry themselves to and indeed are buried in the world so that the day of Christ is like to come upon them unawares and I fear they will be found foolish virgins at last I do but hint this by the way but who knows to what ears and hearts the Lord may direct this holy jealousie by his Spirit and give some poor souls that awakening with sight and sorrow for this sin never more to be sorrowed for My Brethren if in the Apostles times those were looked upon and called the last times what then may we judge of these times we are cast into who live 1600 years after most of the Apostles and first Saints after Christ Surely if those were the last times then our times must be the last part of the last times and the very dregs of evil and sinful dayes O! at what a high rate do men sin now one or other who slight or oppose the glorious Gospel of Free-Grace and the remission of sin in the Blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ after this Gospel hath been so eminently preached and witnessed to by the Father the Son the Spirit and the Saints for above 1600 years The whole time of the Gentiles Tyranny was at first limitted to 42 Monthes and the Witnesses sackcloth-state to 1260 dayes and if that time prophetically shall