manifested in Christ and yet perceives no such preciousnesse in Christ and his testimony as to move him according to his measure to count all things but losse for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ but easily listens to and admires the pretended excellencies of other spirits that lift not up the Son of Man according to the Apostles Doctrine but privily some other thing or work in his stead or embraces and cleaves to the things of this present world nor is moved with like love and compassion towards men from the grace in Christ beleeved nor united in heart with them that fear his Name and call upon him in truth to know and own them as brethren and strive together with them for the faith of the Gospel but hath left his first Love or else hath not yet so received the love of the truth as to save him let us not acknowledge his sayings to bee true that he doth so unfeignedly beleeve the truth as it is in Jesus for so we shall render God a Lyar and his Word without effect but let God be true and every man a Lyar for that grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men teacheth us That denying ungodlinesse and worldly lusts we should live righteously soberly and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the mighty God and our Saviour Let none of us therefore be moved to mean thoughts of the efficacy of the word of faith because we or others prove it not while we think and say we beleeve that thence we should slight that as vain and run to some other way to wait for the Spirit or for perfecting what was begun by the Spirit in the hearing of faith but let us judge our selves of wavering unconstancy or double mindednesse and of neglect of that so great Salvation and having itching ears after something sutable to our divers lusts and let us suffer our hearts by the grace of God while yet admonishing and striving with us to be more fixed trusting in the Lord without guile or waveringnesse seeking righteousnesse in Jesus through the knowledge and faith of him through which he gives all things pertaining to life and godlinesse Let us give more earnest heed to the things we have heard in the word of the truth of the Gospel least at any time we let them slip Consider that love of God to manward appearing in and through Christ saved the Apostles and so and therein they had the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost shed on them abundantly through Jesus Christ and that Gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation to every one that beleeveth for therein is the righteousnesse of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written The just shall live by faith And to this answers the other descriptions of the righteous ones in this text They are merciful men or men of kindnesse or godlinesse Men filled and seasoned with the apprehension and perswasion of the mercies compassions and kindnesse of God to sinners to the unkind and evil and of that as discovered in the face of Christ where he is to be truly known and worshipped And so of his good will in Christ begotten through the word of truth to their faith and hope in him and joy in hope of the glory to bee revealed and patience in tribulations and thence moved and filled with bowels and mercies compassions and kindnesse answerable to that they beleeve and perceive to be in God towards others even towards all in blindnesse and distresse yea to the unkind and evil the love of Christ constraining them to perswade them to be reconciled to God in Christ and to seek â—heir good by all means within their capacity and with all earnestnesse knowing also the â—errour of the Lord because they thus judge That if one dyed for all then were all dead and that be dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live to themselves but to him this dyed for them and rose again yea hence also they are filled with delightful love of and desire of fellowship with those that call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart and with bowels of mercies humblenesse of mind meeknesse and goodnesseone towards another and towards all men answerable to the kindnesse and mercies of God in Christ And so if we read it men of godlinesse it will come to the same for they are the right and true worshippers of God who worship the Father in spirit and truth and such the Father seeks to worship him they worship adore honour magnifie beleeve and trust in him in the Spirit that is in the light and power of and according to the testimony of Jesus and of Gods glory as shined in his face which testimony the Holy Ghost hath given and in it his evidence and demonstration of Christ and of the Father is And therefore when we are called upon to godlinesse or to worship God that testimony of Jesus is said to be the spirit of Prophecy in and according to which we are to worship Rev. 19. 10. and so they in that light and strength of the Spirit have their rejoycing in Christ Jesus The truth And have no confidence in the flesh Joh. 4. 23 24. 5. 23 24. Phil. 3. 3. and in this true worship and fear of the Lord they are made partakers of the Divine Nature in interest in it union or fellowship with it conforming to it so as by Christ through faith so as thereby they goe on purging themselves from all filthinesse of flesh and spirit perfecting holinesse in the fear of the Lord 2 Corinth 6. 16-18 7. 1. purifying their hearts through beleef of the truth and retaining the hope of it in them to unfeigned love of the brethren and to more freedome from the intanglements and cares of this world as those that are pressing after the mark of the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus which pure religion and undefiled brings forth its fruit in their visiting the Sick the Widdows and fatherlesse in their affliction and keeping themselves unspotted in the world so as they walking in the Spirit though they have flesh warring in them are by the light and power of the Spirit in the testimony of Jesus kept from fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and so preserved blamelesse unto the day of Christ Rom. â— 8. 1-13 Gal. 5. And to this agrees that two-fold description of the Persons that shall ascend into the hill of the Lord and stand in his holy place Psal 24. 3 4 6. The first is He that hath clean hands and a pure hears that hath not lift up his soul to vanity nor sworn deceitfully for though there is none righteous no not one but all have sinned and are wholly polluted and unclean yet this truth remains for ever Without holiness no man shall see the Lord so that if there be
doubtless in any thing wherein his heart is departing from his refuge or his eye wandring into corners the immortal Seed the Word of God not retained in his heart in beleeving mindfulness Sin gets the advantage of him and his readiness to halt appears and so in many things we offend all and are therein of Satan not of God 1 Joh. 3. 5 8-10 Psal 38. 17 18. Prov. 28. 13 14 Psa 19. 12 13. 119. 8. 11. 133. 176. 51. 1-7 3 Such also is this beleeving with the heart that God hath raised Christ from the Dead that in it the Lord himself becomes the Beleevers hope his expectation of all further grace and glory is in him begot and strengthened from the infinite grace of God to man ward commended in this that while we were sinners and enemies in due time Christ dyed for us and the infinite vertue of his Bloud in which the peace and attonement was made with God for us while we were yet enemies This grace in Christ beleeved renders him precious fills the heart with high esteeme of the greatness and truth of Gods love in him and of the infinite and abiding vertue of his Bloud and his fitness and faithfulness throught it to perfect what concerns them So that in this faith of Gods operation their expectation and hope is not grounded either on a peremptory conclusion that they cannot fall or miscarry or on their act of beleeving or faithfulness and resolutions of constancy and abiding nor are they left to draw up their consolation and hope by way of Argument from their being such or in such a state as to which such Promises are made but the grace in Christ understood and beleeved the heart being exercised in the hearty beleef and mindfulness of him what he hath done and is become for sinners and his office faithfulness and readiness to help teach and draw them and to accept all commers without upbraiding and to give them through his name in the vertues and openings of it forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the knowledge and faith of it and first fruites of the Spirit now and in the hope of the Harvest in due time I say the heart and mind being exercised in the hearty belief and mindfulness of this grace in Christ and so stayed on his name is not then left to reflect back into it self to draw up its consolation and hope from its being such a beleever but is filled with strong consolation and hope through the grace understood and perceived in Christ while the heart is only minding him that is the ground and object of hope the hope is begot and strengthened in a Divine and Spiritual way through the opening of that name and shedding abroad his love in the heart therein so that Jesus Christ received by faith in his testimony and not their receit of him is unto them and in their hearts the hope of glory the ground and foundation of it and he from whom viewed it springs and in whom it iâ— And that after the same consideration of him as hee is in the Gospel preached to every man He that spared not his owne Sonne but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him freely give us all things See Rom. 5. 5-10 8. 32. Col. 1. 26 27. Gal. 2. 20. Joh. 6. 51. And such is the truth and excellency of this name of God in Christ that they that kâ—â—w it will trust in it if any man whatever did know own listen and seek to it according to the discoveries of it brought him it would beget trust and hope of which he should not be ashamed it quickens to new and living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead Again in this faith of the operation of God their expectation is so in him even of all things pertaining to life and godliness to be now given with him not without him or in any other way but through the knowledge of him whom he spared not but delivered up for us all that even that hope retained in them purifies their hearts from ways of iniquity in which presumptuously growing careless or wandering from him they might miscarry and fayl of the grace of God so as they are instructed and admonished by it to give diligence and attend always to read the vision of God as written in the face of Christ that so they may be strengthened to run and kept through faith to the Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time Yea such it is as from the excellency and grace in the ground of it as also in the way in which it is to be met with rather to bee chosen then any other way or rule and the excellent glory of the end of it as strengthens them to all patience and long suffering with joyfulness and as those that beleeve in him and look for such things not to make hast to fancy an accomplishment of the great things hoped for in this day or to bring about the accomplishment of Gods promises he that beleeves makes not hast Behold his soul that is lifted up either above the reading of the Vision of God in Christ in his testimony given for guiding his feet in the way of peace that he may run with patience the race set before him as Heb. 12 1 2. or to imagine and boast of an enjoyment of the Vision so as by seeing and possessing the great things the glory in the hope of which we are called by the Gospel or to put to his hand in striving and fighting for the hasting or bringing forth of Gods righteousness in the things behind His soul is not upright in him but the just shall live by faith In all which considerations it appears they are in this beleâ—ving through his name workers of righteousness doers of the truth and therefore truly called The righteous As well as also 2 Because they are herein justified in the sight of God imputed accounted and accepted righteous in that perfect righteousness Christ hath wrought and is become for them with which faith closeth By the deeds of the Law shall no man be justified in the sight of God but now the righteousness of God without the Law is manifested being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets even the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus that is by the Preaching or Doctrine of Jesus So now manifested unto all and upon all them that beleeve unto all by way of redundancy tender and manifestation but upon all that beleeve even by way of imputation of it to them and acceptation of them in it so in the next Chapter God is said to impute righteousness without works unto them to accept their persons into delightful favour and fellowship by and in the vertue of that perfect righteousness which they have by faith accepted and so they are made accepted in the Beloved they are made or pronounced and presented good just righteous in the sight of God
Jesus in that his most holy Body being made perfect through sufferings is the anoynted Prince and Saviour for to give us repentance and forgiveness of sins and he hath confirmed the Promises to the Fathers and given forth the testimony and revelation of himself and the Fathers glory in him in full and as it must stand till his Second appearing At which Great Day all the things behind shall even so bee fulfilled as declared in this dispensation of the fulness of times in the meane time God hath spoken to us in these last dayes by his Son and in and with and according to this word is the influence of the light and power of his Spirit poured out on all Flesh on all the Nations reproving the World and leading Beleevers into all truth the Father having glorified him for the calling the Nations in the preaching peace to them by vertue of the peace made for them by his bloud Isa 55. 4 5. Matthew 28. 18 19. 1 Tim. 2. 5 6 7. 2 In and with this consideration of the great things he hath done Rich provision of all things pertaining to life and godliness in him for us behold him also in his faithfulness in all his Work and Office appointed him it is according as it hath been manifested in that which he hath already done therefore that to be remembred as a standing witness of it as Isaiah 50. 4 5 to the end so Hebrews 12. 2. he that failed not in that will not fail in any thing that he is appointed and impowred to for us in the vertues of that either in his appearing in the presence of God for us or in the Name of the Father giving good things to us that through him we might be saved See also the Fathers face in his Good and upright is the Lord therefore will be teach sinners in the way and then it follows The meek that is those sinners that in his first and preventing teachings are melted and turne in the light and power of his reproofs those will he guide in judgement and further teach his way Psalme 25. 8 9. like that John 16. 8 9 10 13. he fails not Isa 4â— but makes his Judgements as the Light that goeth forth he is all the day long while by any means he is calling to behold him stretching out his hand Isaiah 65. 1 2. Hosea 6. 5 6 7. his goodness is leading to Repentance even those that are not led by it Romans 2. 4 5. Isaiah 48. 17 18. Psalm 81. He is drawing with the cords of a man the demonstrations of a Saviour in a body prepared for him through sufferings made perfect and glorified with the Fathers owne self and with he bands of love the displayings of his love and glory in that face of Christ and therein lifting up the yoke of thraldome naturally on the Jewes while he sets meat before them and this even to such as break his bands and cast away his cords from them Hosea 11. John 3 14 15 16. Psalm 2. Jeremy 5. 5. Zach. 7. 11 12. Ezek. 24. 11. 13. Psalm 81. and in turning at his reproof he will pour out his Spirit further and make known his words Proverbs 1. 23. hee hath now no pleasure in the death of any Sinner yea behold he stands ready to accept of all commers And in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh Righteousnesse is accepted with him to him give give the Prophets Witnesse that through his Name whoseever beleeveth in him shall receive remission of sins and the end of that man is peace Consider also as further Motives to press us to haste and diligence in Learning Righteousnesse the present opportunity only is ours wherefore the Holy Ghost saith To day if yee will hear his voyce harden not your hearts If once the good man of the House that by such Providences as is the subject of this Discourse appears as rising up if once he bee risen up and have shut the door against any of us it will then be too late And this also wee know wee must all dye and doe see that the natural life is a very Bubble presently broken by the least blast of God and the gathering time terminates with that at farthest After death the Judgement shall bee according to the things now done in the Body good or evil according to the rule of the Gospel Let all move us to consider and receive instruction while it is to day learn Righteousnesse by his Judgements and for our direction herein Hee hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to doe justly in receiving his Testimony concerning Christ and as that gives ground perswades and strengthens in the supernatural Light and Power with which it is evidenced and made nigh thee so through it beleeving on him that justifieth the ungodly as Romans 4. 10. to love mercy accept receive and drink downe the mercy and pitty of God to man-ward as manifested in and through Christ bringing Salvation as Hosea 6. 6. with Matth. â— 13. reject not the grace of God in Christ the love of the Truth that comes to save your souls and walk humbly with thy God acknowledging our owne vilenesse wretchednesse and deadnesse in sins and trespasses ascribing Righteousnesse to our Maker receive the Sentence of Death in our selves that wee may learn to trust in him that raiseth the Dead lift not up our imaginations high thoughts or purposes against the evidence and demonstration of Christ the instructions reproofs and requirings of that Murmur not among your selves but with meeknesse receive the ingrafted word that is able to save your souls and in the light and strength of it be yee doers of it in all the fruites of Righteousnesse Justice Mercy and humility in your whole demeanour towards God and mâ—◠〈◊〉 that Grace of God that brings Salvation to all men hath appeared teaching us that denying ungodlinesse and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blesseâ— hope c. The Lords voyce crieth unto the City the man of wisdome shall see â—â—â— name hear yee the Rod and who hath appointed it Mich. 6. 8 9. FINIS ERRATA PAge 2 l. 1. r. significant p. 6. l. 26. adde he is guilty of all p. 8. ◠〈◊〉 jawer p. 19. l. 3 â— for in r. from p. 17. l. 1. r. beleeve p. â—7 l. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 23. adde the p. 48. l. 29. r. jawes