spiritually So that all the births produced by man are but fleshly all the changes man can make in his own heart or any else is but from flesh to flesh from grosser flesh to flesh somewhat more refined Conversion by Miracles and strong arguments is but a fleshly conversion all the wayes that man can take to bring his owne heart to believe to close in with Christ to love Christ can produce but a fleshly Faith a fleshly love all the wayes man can take to kill and subdue sinne in him it is but a fleshly mortifying of sinne sinne is truly alive for all this and will discover its life again when it sees its time Christ doth especially allude to the Miracles that were in Nicodemus his eye wer 't thou born of these thy birth is but fleshly how spirituall soever such a person may seeme how spiritually soever he may seem to act yet at the root he is but fleshly The change is made but by flesh and the thing changed is still but flesh how glorious soever the change may seeme Think well of it it cannot be said too often all the wayes and meanes man can use to bring up his heart to God they are but fleshly and can produce but fleshly operations in him all this Faith and holinesse though raised to never so great an height it is but that his heart must bee mortified to if ever he live spiritually Oh! it would be sweet and profitable to consider the abundance of fleshly changes wherewith the Devill cozens men They see a reall change in themselves and so think they are sure whereas it is but a reall fleshly change not a reall spirituall change and so indeed not reall in the true sence a change from naturall unbeliefe to naturall Faith for there is a power in nature to believe which may either bee afrighted or perswaded to put forth it selfe for its own preservation Nature being convinced of its present danger and that there is no way of safety but by believing on Christ which Faith must bee accompanied with love to Christ the truths of Christ the people of Christ and that this love must shew it selfe in obedience Nature I say being convinced of this does presently muster up all its forces of Faith love obedience laying them at Christs feet to dispose of it will trust him love what he will have it love obey what he will command it hate what he will have it hate deny it selfe its own ends interests c. there is nothing so spirituall but it will undertake and goe thorough after its manner rather then perish and alas what is this All this is but nature working from its own principle with its own power to its own end There is no new birth necessary to all this though all this doth also proceed from a new birth where it is after more a excellent manner then nature can attaine to But now that which is borne or begotten of the Spirit is Spirit that which the spirit begets which the spirit produceth is spirit That Faith that love to God which hee breathes into a man that is truly spirituall If a mans heart bee changed not by reason not by the power of Miracles but by him by his immediate power then the change is true and sound As it is the spirit who begets so that which is begotten by him with that water which he useth in his act of generation is a true and spirituall birth There are three particulars which discover the reality of spirituall things as well as of other things 1 The originall from whence they come 2 the nature whereof they are and 3 the effects which they produce Every spirituall thing it commeth from the spirit it is spirituall it selfe and it worketh spiritually there is a true tincture of its nature and of its originall in every effect it produceth As every naturall man is begotten by a man hath the nature of a man in himselfe and acteth like a man worketh the operations of a man So every new man every spirituall man is begotten by the spirit hath the nature of the spirit in him and discovereth his nature and originall in every one of his spirituall motions and actions His Faith his love every thing in him proceeds from the spirit partakes of the nature of the spirit moveth and acteth spiritually The former of these Christ argues the truth of the new birth from in this place its comming from the spirit that which is born of the spirit is spirit What ever the spirit worketh in a man is truly spirituall that light he shews is true spirituall light that grace he gives is true spirituall grace that change hee makes is a true spirituall change but all other changes are but countersets of that true spirituall one which he alone can make And this may shew us the reason why there are so many changes in this flitting age it is because most men are changed by the flesh the greatest power of flesh still changeth them A strong Objection which they cannot answer will startle any man that is changed by a power of flesh Hence men take up one practise to day another to morrow now acknowledge this or that for a truth by and by it is false then true againe why because they see not things by the light of the spirit which never varies but by a force of argument by a power of reason which sometimes appeares stronger sometimes weaker sometimes greater sometimes lesser but a soule whose light is changed whose practises are changed by the spirit that change remaineth good let all the winds and gusts of arguments blow never so strongly Take heed therefore of changing your apprehensions or practises about any thing till you can say the spirit changeth them else it will be but a fleshly change What further remaines but that every one that loveth his soule should lay this to heart and consider thoroughly according to the weightinesse and importance of it how it is with him what that religion is whereupon he groundeth his hopes what oyl feeds his lamp whence his Faith his love came and of what rank and kind they are And not to doe this slightly or determine suddenly as is most usuall with men in matters of Religion but as on the one hand to be thankfull unto God for and make much of the least hope which is not every ones lot so on the other hand not to rest satisfied or let God alone till he hath brought us to an absolute certainty then and not till then we may safely without hazard give over the debate of this question And though we may perhaps be a long while before we attaine it yet if God carry on our hearts in the pursuite we may meet with sweet pledges and refreshings in the way as may much mitigate Gods seeming tediousnesse in deferring our full satisfaction herein And indeed though God leads his people in such harsh and difficult wayes to the eye of
sence and reason as would affright any carnall heart yet he hath withall such sweetnings to mingle with them as maketh them very passable to all whom he leads through them Egypt the bondage of it he can make tolerable The Wildernesse the intricacies of it he can make a plaine way through Canaan the high Wals and strong enemies thereof even the children of Anack whose very sight strikes terrour he can make conquerable to his Christ and to his seed Onely take heed of suddennesse of sudden judgement Men that are apt to be sudden are as liable to deceit and commonly are deceived especially in abstruse and difficult cases he that will give sentence at first dash without weighing the matter thoroughly and the severall circumstances of it may easily erre in judgment and an error herein is of no small concernment there cannot be a worse and more dangerous mistake There are two sorts of persons very prone to be sudden in the judgement they passe on spirituall things and their own estate in spirituall things The weak and dark Christian who is ready still through his fear which ever accompanies weaknes darknes to conclude all against himselfe and the slight and superficiall Christian who never thoroughly looked into spirituall things nor hath been well versed in the deceits about them he is apt to take the likenesse and appearance of every thing for the thing it selfe and to conclude all for himselfe with as great confidence as the other thrusts all from himselfe with over-much diffidence The former lay any promise before him he will say it belongs not to him bring him to any tryall he is presently cast Try his Faith alas there is nothing but unbeliefe to be found in him Try his love it is but a naturall affection Try his obedience it is but forced by the command Try his uprightnesse why there is nothing more deceitfull then his heart The latter he is in a clean contrary posture Mention any promise he can presently lay hold oâ— it it belongs to him and he can suck a great deale of sweetnesse out of it Speak of Faith why he hath it he knowes that he is undone without Christ and that he is the only way to life such as believe on him shall be saved and him hath he trusted with his soul Tell him this Faith must be wrought by God why he knowes that no man can work it himselfe it is the gift of God Tell him it must be a spirituall Faith hee knowes that too every grace is spirituall Name any thing else so soone as you have spoke it he hath it Speak of love either to God or the brethren his heart will presently witnesse to him that he doth love both God and the brethren and it is a sincere love not for any by-ends in one kind or other Come to obedience he holds sound there too he obeyes the will of God at least in desire and endeavour he performes duties he strives against his corruptions nay and hee doth not this in in a legall way as thinking to be saved hereby hee knowes he must be saved by Christ alone by Faith in him and for his heart though he faile in many things yet hee blesseth God that it is u right and he knowes God is mercifull to pardon his failings and accept of his integrity So that he hath no cause to feare or trouble himselfe about any thing for he is sure what ever may befall him here it will be well at last and so he is at rest Now both these are commonly mistaken The former for the promises many times belong to such a soule though hee cannot apply them and hee may have true faith and true love and true obedâ—ence though he cannot see it The seed may bee sown in him and grow up in him though hee know not how and so cannot acknowledge it and he is not to be blamed for not acknowledging it for how can he till hee know it nor for suspecting it but only for such a sudden and positive determining of the contrary which hee hath as little if not lesse ground for then for his suspition And for the latter The promises doe seldome belong to such a person The promises doe not so easily meet with and melt into our spirits as such kind of language implyes and for his Faith his love his obedience his uprightnesse they may be but of the stamp of nature and if they should meet with such tryals and blasts as God hath generally appointed and doth usually prepare for his they would soon discover themselves Now marke the danger of each The former loseth his peace his comfort The latter his soule if hee be deceived and both by the same miscarriage their forwardnesse and suddennesse in judgement the one determines for himselfe the other against himselfe upon their own imagination and apprehension before they have the thing laid before them and opened to them which they should judge or the light held to them by which they should judge The one determines against his Faith The other for his Faith and yet neither knowes what Faith is and they both doe it by their own reason which is no true light to discern or judge spirituall things by It were a more modest and sutable action for either to bewaile their own ignorance with a sence of their need of understanding and determining this thing and to pray and wait for light and help from him by whom it is cleerely discerned and who can make it discernable unto them FINIS THE Spirituall Practise OF CHRISTIANS IN The Primitive Times Wherein Are contained the sweet goings forth of life in the soule which is enstated in Christ and in the sweetnesse and clearnesse of the GOSPEL HAving laid down the tryall of a Christian in the fore-going Treatise it may not be amisse to adde somewhat concerning the Practise of a Christian as it was cast in upon reading the Episte to the Ephesians or some part of the Rule whereby their practise was squared which in that Epistle resolves it selfe into these foure streames 1 To suck in the sweetnesse of the Gospel 2 To admire God and Christ who have been at the great cost to purchase and prepare this feast of fatnesse and sweetnesse for the soule 3 To walk worthy of this his his goodnesse And 4 To stand upon our guard that wee bee not driven from it from enjoying the sweetnesse of it from honouring God with it This is the path whereinto Christians then were led and wherein they walked 1. To suck in the sweetnesse of the Gospel to be ever seeding upon Christ to be ever delighting in that glorious state and in those glorious priviledges God hath bestowed upon us in Christ and this is to bee done two wayes I. By considering the mercies and priviledges we have in Christ As First we have redemption pardon of sinne in him we are bought from our captivity and misery by his blood we are washed from
our sinfulnesse from our filthinesse by the same blood Eph. 1. 17. Secondly we are made sonnes and have a sonne-like inheritance we are made Gods portion and God is made our portion vers. 5. 11. Thirdly we have all we can desire in this life we have accesse to God for any thing Chap. 2. 18. Chap. 3. 12. who will bee sure to doe every thing for us we need freely and to put us upon praying for every thing wee need and also upon believing and waiting that we may misse of no mercy his grace hath designed us God will take care of us as of his own houshold Chap. 2. 19. He will be as sure of our growing up as he is of the foundation he has laid to bottome us upon vers. 20. 21. II. We further suck in and better rellish the sweetnesse of the Gospel by comparing our present state with our former We were dead but are alive We were darknesse but now are light We were cursed with all spirituall curses in Adam but now are blessed with all spirituall blessings in Christ Wee were without God without hope strangers to life and blessednesse but now wee are in God and full of hope and every way nigh unto him and every excellency in him Chap. 2. 1. 2 3. vers. 6. 12. 13. and Chap. 1. 3. 2. To admire that God and that Christ who have done this for us who have made such a sweet change in our condition 1 Admire that great love wherewith they loved us which was working from all eternity to effect that for us which now they are carrying on amaine Chap. 2. 4. Chap. 3. 19. 2 Admire that abundant free-grace that has made no spare of any thing for us but has acted fully according to the strength of love Chap. 1. 7. Chap. 2. 5. 7. There were but two pretious lives The life of God and the life of Christ and grace hath given us them both To recover us from death the life of Christ was given for us and to keep us in life the life of God is given to us 3 Admire that rich mercy wherein all our former sinnes and every dayes unkindnesses even against Christ and his pretious Gospel and God our Father and the sweet Spirit are continually buried Chap. 2. 4. 4 Admire that various that manifold that {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Chap. 3. 10. which laid all the plot of love and which worketh us up daily more and more into the heart of God and nearer and nearer to our happinesse notwithstanding all the pull backs in our selves in the world in our spirituall enemies in the varieties of our conditions which all almost distemper us that though we are untoward under every thing and in danger by every thing yet we lose nothing 5 Admire the mighty power which hath thus translated us from darknesse to light which daily preserves us from â—â—lling back againe and is often mightily working in us to raise us up to further degrees of perfection Chap. 1. 19. 20. Chap. 3. â—0 3. To walk worthy of this blessed Gospel state Chap. 4. 1. wherein God is our Father and Christ our head wherein we have so many pretious priviledges at present and hopes for the future wherein we professe our selves broken to the world and to all the powers of nature in our selves too to live like men that live upon a new principle from God and in God and to God Walking it notes our whole course all the service wee are now to perform to Christ whose we are and whom alone we are now to serve in care over our own hearts in all duties of worship in our callings in our converse in every thing This walking worthy principally appeares in our manner of acting towards men whereof there are three sorts 1 Our fellow-Christians 2 the World and 3 Persons that stand in outward relations to us First Our fellow-Christians and specially those in Church-Communion with us for they are those God hath more specially set us to walk with they are those with whom we are chiefly to worship and whom we must especiall love and of whom wee must especiall take care and watch over Now the manner of our acting towards them must bee 1. With all humblenesse and meeknesse with low thoughts of our selves and in a meet manner Chap. 4. 2. 2. With long-suffering forbearing one another in love vers. 2. We must not be apt to apprehend injuries or seek recompence for injuries but suffer long and forbeare one another and not simply because it is the will of Christ who hath forborn us much and forgiven us much that wee should so doe but from the love we beare one to another from a tender brotherly affection and in a tender brotherly manner 3. The Apostle tells us what should be our great aime and endeavour in our actings one towards another vers. 3. To keep up unity the unity of the spirit to keep it in the bond of peace endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace we must not keep a sinfull unity a carnall unity in the bond of peace no the bond of peace must bind up no such unity in it but there must be warre with and opposition against all such unity but the unity of the spirit that unity the foundation whereof God hath laid among us who hath made us perfectly one in spirituals being all of the same body having all the same spirit of life running in us having all the same hope to attaine the same end all the same Lord to serve all the same way of union with him subjection to him and owning of him all the same God and Father who begate us all vers. 4. 5 6. to which might bee added wee have all also the same enemies and the same dangers Now God having laid such a foundation of unity in all our spirits we must endeavour to keep up unity so farre as it is spirituall and not to rent one from another in that wherein God hath made us one Humblenesse takes away the root of contention which is the bane of all societies quickly eating out both the sweetnesse and benefit of them for that still flowes from pride pride begets pride feeds contention A man that has low thoughts of himselfe has little minde to contend It is height of spirit that blowes up the fire of contention Meeknesse takes away the occasion of contention which arises much from a rough harsh manner of expression a meek spirit as it seldome takes occasion of contention but quietly lets it passe so it seldomes gives others occasion to contend with it Long-suffering and forbearance puts a stop to the breaking forth of contention when occasions are given But besides all these there must be an endeavour an industry used to keep up true and spirituall unity 4. The Apostle directs us how to make use of our severall gifts profitably according to the end for which they were given which is