thy heart and thy chief Love If he had been thy God nothing could disquiet thee when separated from thee If ye will have other Gods besides him you will lose your Gods when they are taken from you and you will be like Micah and say ye have taken away my Gods and what have I more Judg. 18.24 The reason of your discomposure and anguish and sorrow was this when you had some other Gods besides the Lord and your hearts did cleave to some temporary thing and that when the Trial comes that thou must part with it thou canst not bear it If you would live a Serene Life a Life of Tranquility set your minds upon nothing but upon the Lord let him be the object of your Souls love live in the light of his Countenance and you may always rejoyce Consider as for Temporals you hold them of the Lord God gives you this Husband that Wife that Child that Estate God hath entrusted you with it but not so but he that hath it must part with it and be bereaved of it when God pleaseth Now if you give up your hearts to God here will be your establishment and settlement and you will have an an abundant entrance into the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And would we seek to know and feel wherein the Communion of the Saints stands doth it not stand in partaking together of the Bread of Life which our Father giveth us from Heaven The Father spreads a Table for us in the sight of our Enemies and we are satisfied They that come to partake of this Table of the Lord find strength and refreshment so do I and also my Brethren and Sisters that sit at the same Table We are daily confirmed and strengthned by what we receive from God and enjoy there here is our Heavenly Fellowshâ—p and Society and where this is the root of Love Love cannot be wanting in the branches There must be a departing from the Bread of Life before there can be any jarring and contention among the Members of the same body for we receive Life from the same Head from which all the Body by joynts and bands having Nourishment ministred and knit together increase with the increase of God and are built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ himself being the Chief Corner-Stone in whom all the Building fitly framed together groweth unto a Holy Temple in the Lord. Now that you may be all preserved in Christ this is the end of our Labour that so every one that hath begun in the Spirit may go on in the Spirit and never look for perfection in the Flesh That you that have begun in humility tenderness and brokenness of heart may in that meet together at times and seasons and have daily the presence of God among you and have that Bread of Life which will nourish you to Life Everlasting and that you may shew forth to the World the Glory Brightness and Excellency of that Holy Life which in Christ Jesus is manifested to you Sermon IV. Pure and Spiritual Worship Preached at Devonshire-House Novemb. 12. 1690. THE Worship of God of the Great God is Pure he is a Holy God Of Purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity and all they who will Worship God whose Souls are breathing to have the return of a Testimony in his sight must offer Pure Worship and it must come from that which is Pure For that purpose the greatness of the Love of God is made manifest in Christ Jesus and there is a diffusing of his Grace and Vertue in the Hearts of the Sons and Daughters of Men whereby he hath laid a Foundation for his own Worship because his Worship must be Pure Therefore he hath freely given unto us through his Son the knowledge of that Pure Principle of Life and Grace from whence and out of which all true Worship doth Spring and all true honour to God ariseth and real obedience to his Holy Will springs forth out of that which is from himself And therefore all that will be Worshipers of God aright must first know and be sensible wherein the ability and capacity stands that may enable them to so great and so good a work Some have conceived it to stand in their own Will and according to the working of their own Will they have framed Worships Religions and Observations thinking thereby to please God But you know the Apostle in a few short words lays down a positive Christian Doctrine Without Faith it is impossible to please God Now this doth declare and signifie that there must be something upon which this Faith must work that must be the Object and Foundation of it Faith as it worketh in the Creature worketh upon something It lays hold upon something in which there is a capacity of pleasing God Now if we are all by Nature Children of Wrath and that no one of himself can please God then there must be something that is Supernatural that must be the Object of that Faith by which men alone can please God and this must be made manifest to the Creature for its help for to be its director and supporter in that work that is too mighty for himself too great a work for a Man or Woman too deep too profound for any Mans Abilities Power Wisdom and Acquirements that he can attain to in this World to Worship God aright To Worship God that is to perform a Pure Worship to a Pure God Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Now if we are all obliged to bring a clean Worship a pure Worship to a Pure and Holy God who hath Created us and all things where shall we have it Not out of an unclean Heart not out of a defiled Mind there is no bringing of it forth from thence for that is the state and condition that men are fallen into by Sin in which their minds and Consciences are defiled their Hearts are polluted and their Affections depraved and set upon wrong Objects and in this state none can serve God aright That which is Pure and Holy must be first made known revealed discovered and believed before People can perform a Right Worship to God And therefore in vain is it to go and drive People to this and that Worship and force People to this and that Service and Conformity upon the account of the Worship of God This is vain Worship when they have done all it is not acceptable to God the poor Creature hath no Return from the Lord for God accepts no Service or Worship but only through his Son And if so be men cannot Pray and Preach in the Spirit of his Son and cannot present their Complaints and Supplications to God but by the assistance and help of his blessed Spirit there is no reason in Religion why People should expect a return and answer from God of the Prayers they make For it is the General Doctrine of Christendom that Christ
Jesus is appointed of God for a Mediatour between God and Man and all the acceptance we have or desire to have must be through him and therefore if we Pray without him and perform this and the other Duty without him It is contrary to the Doctrine of Christianity to think that ever we shall have acceptance in Gods sight Therefore there is a necessity for every Man and Woman that desires to be Religious that hath a Religious mind and is willing to Worship God and Serve God aright there is a necessity that they come to the knowledge of Christ who tells us that he is The way to the Father They that go any other way go a wrong way but they that go unto God by Christ they do receive from him power to draw near to God and through him they receive from God all those blessings that their Souls stand in need of So here would be an end of all Religions the World is full of of all the several Worships that men have made they have invented and found out several ways for People to Worship and Serve God This and the other Ceremony this and the other observation and Method of Preaching and Praying If all this be without the Assistance and Divine Help of the Mediatour thro' whom alone we can justly expect acceptance at Gods hands it is all good for nothing Therefore the first Lesson of a Christian in point of Worship is that he come to the knowledge of Christ by whom and through whom he may expect favour with God Now say some People we are already come to the knowledge of Christ we have read the Relation in the Gospel of his Conception Birth Life and Death Resurrection and Assension now whether this Belie◠doth give a man this kind of Christian knowledge that doth open a Door and Way fo◠him into the Presence of God This is 〈◊〉 Question that ought seriously to be considered for if we err in this Question we err in all this is like stumbling at the threshold and never coming into the house If we mistake in laying hold of Christ we mistake in our Worship and in all matters that relate to Life and Salvation For if we must have another sort of knowledge of Christ than we can have from the reports of others if I must have Christ revealed in me before I can have the hope of Glory if I must have the Spirit of Christ in me to help me to put up my requests and supplications before he can present them to the Father then all literal knowledge and faith cannot stand Men in any stead but this is evident by the Testimony of all the Writers of the New Testament Christ and his Apostles did concurrently signifie that the hope of a Christian that the power and strength of a Christian it all lies in this in that they had known the revelation of Christ and the powerful operation of the Spirit working in them this was that which was well pleasing to God many Scriptures might be spoken of but you know the Scriptures and can read them and see in them the concurrent Testimony of all Holy Men to this day that the knowledge they had of Christ was a Divine Knowledge a Spiritual Knowledge it was a knowing him after the Spirit it was a Revelation of Christ in them that separated and distinguished them from Reprobates even the knowledge of God through Christ Jesus their Lord why should not we come to this Knowledge as well as they the Lord is the same and his Power is the same and his Arm is not shortned we may see as much need of Divine Assistance and Divine Love as ever men did we can perform no duty either of Prayer or Preaching without Divine Assistance nor so much as a sigh or a groan that may have acceptance with God without the help of his Spirit Rom. 8.26 The Spirit helpeth our Infirmities for we know not what we should Pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered If we go about the Duty of Prayer without Divine assistance we see what sad work we make of it if we Pray not in the Spirit and with understanding how can we receive the thing we pray for but if we Pray in the Spirit and with understanding also then the Spirit helpeth our infirmities the Spirit that came from God brings us the things that we stand in need of So that a Christian hath a foundation for his Worship and Christian performance what is that foundation Nothing that is corrupt if it be it is good for nothing for nothing that is corrupted and that defiles can be acceptable and pleasing to God we are all polluted and defiled by Nature how can Carnal Men Worship a Spiritual God Carnal Men that are in Death and Darkness cannot Worship that God that is Light and dwells in Light that is inaccessible that is of purer eyes than to behold Iniquity Carnal Men want a Foundation for their Worship and will do till they come to that foundation that God hath laid Now that I may speak intelligibly what the Lord hath laid upon my heart I would say thus There is an Universal benefit and priviledge distributed and given freely of God unto the Sons and Daughters of Men in their Natural State through his Son Jesus Christ in that he hath caused his Light to shine and his Grace to be extended to every Man for the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation for it is not by Works hath appeared to all Men and bringeth Light by which every Man may see how to Worship God God hath enlightned every Man and this Light comes by Christ the Mediatour this Mediatour is the way that Men must walk in if they will come back again to God for Men are run out and departed from God if Men will draw near to God and take some footsteps towards the Kingdom of God from the Kingdom of Sin and Satan they must mind the way the way must be their Director they must not go which way they list This is that which was prophesied of Christ saith God by the Prophet Isaiah I will give him for a Leader I would fain return to God and go out of the Kingdom of Sin and Satan to the Kingdom of God God hath given Christ to lead me if I knew that way he would lead me in I would go that way As soon as a man takes hold of Christ his Grace and Spirit and Life he will be ready to say I am corrupt my senses are corrupt my mind is depraved my Conscience defiled and polluted but I have found out something that God hath bestowed upon m◠that is essentially holy and pure that did never consent to my corruption but is a witness for God against it here now a Christian lays hold on Christ the Leader which way will he lead me If thou layest hold on this guide he will lead thee
upon the Lord to see all that brought to pass which you have believed For I take notice by the Eye that God hath opened in me by which he hath made me to take care of his Flock and sometime put his word in my mouth that I might speak a word in due season I say by this Eye I take notice of many that have received this precious Faith and thereby have believed thereby have believed the great and high state their Faith reacheth so far they know that Power is able to bring them into a perfect Dominion over their Lusts and Passions and Corruptions and over the Spirit of the World over Pride over Anger over all things that are opposite to the Divine Life their Faith is as sound as we can Preach it in respect of the extent of it but their Faith hath not reached thus far in its operation upon their hearts they have not had the power going on to accomplish and fulfill that which remains Are there not some here and there that are settled in the belief of the Truth but are got into an ease from the Labour of the truth but if I be sound in the Faith my Understanding is opened I do not only believe this matter but have inward Evidence and Demonstration that I am certain past all doubt and question of it that the Lord reveals the power in them that believe that purifies them and makes them every whit clean and here I have a Fellowship and Communion with them that preach and them that believe But my Friends all this will not give you Communion with God though there is Communion with the Church of God with respect to Men who are come into one Faith and Doctrine yet for fellowship with God it stands in a life beyond all Doctrines and beyond all words and expressions therefore your business and mine and every one that we first undertook when our faces were first turned to God that we may be followers of Christ in the Regeneration For many may be firm in point of Doctrine and yet may not follow Christ Jesus Many hold the Truth but do not hold it in Righteousness but unrighteousness Now my Friends have a care your Religion and your Souls Eternal Welfare are concerned This Doctrine I leave you in Charge in the name of the Lord God Flatter not your selves never a one of you because of the soundness of your belief but look for soundness of heart and for a right Spirit to be created in you a Spirit that can no way endure any thing that the light of Christ hath made manifest to be evil if it be Truth you own then Exercise Faith upon it and whatsoever Sin or Temptation assaults you say I shall overcome in the Name of the Lord Jehovah I shall bring thee under be what Lust Passion or Corruption soever thou wilt in the name of the Lord I shall overcome thee and bring thee under Travel on in the Faith committed to you and you will be more than Conquerors you will not only grow into external Fellowship with the people of God in the sight of Men but into fellowship with the Church of the first born whose names are written in Heaven and your Communion will not be in Words and Doctrine and Principles of Faith But your Communion will be with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and so in all your Meetings together the joy of the Lord will be your strength and the joy of his great Salvation your Covering and he will manifest his gracious Presence with you and that Power which hath kept you to this day from your Childhood and preserved you in all your Battels and Conflicts with the World and strengthned and encouraged you when you sometimes went sorrowing and mourning night and day and fearing lest you should not overcome your Adversaries that Power that hath kept you hitherto will do greater things for you than you have yet been Witnesses of Therefore Dear Friends this I would leave with you there is nothing will keep you and me in that little time that remains to us here to spend on Earth but that which will keep us in the exercise of Faith towards God and his Son Jesus Christ who is able to save us to the uttermost let us wait to see the power of God for Sanctification and Holiness that will reach as far as saving us from our Sins This hath been the greatest reproach that ever our Adversaries have thrown upon us that there are some among us that talk of believing in the power of God and talk of an ability for overcoming their sins and living a Holy life and living without sin while they themselves live in it This is the greatest reproach that ever our Adversaries have thrown upon us Whosoever have been the cause of this reproach God will require it of them for the Lord is jealous of his Name and Glory and he will have the Praise and Honour that is due to his Great Name for working in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure saith the Apostle though I know nothing by my self yet am I not hereby justified When you come so far as that that you cannot charge your selves then the Lord will not charge you but take heed that therein you place not your Justification hereby you are not justified Therefore have an eye to Jesus the Author and the Finisher of your Faith He begins the work of Faith and he will carry it on until he be the finisher of it and the justifier of you he is the Mediator of the New Covenant that alone justifies the Children of God depend not upon your own Holiness and Righteousness for justification keep your eye to Jesus the Author of your Faith who will also be the finisher of it keep your hearts with all diligence and walk humbly with God watching lest your Adversary that you have overcome prevail against you By going from the Power there is no safety for the Flock but only while they keep in the Shepherds Fold be faithful and keep your selves in the love of God and he will be present with you and keep you to be his Witnesses to the end of your days and will raise up another Generation to be Witnesses to his Power when he hath taken you to himself To that Mighty Power of God I commit you for preserving of you in humility of Mind and Soul and my Prayer for you shall be that you may go on and make a progress in the good ways of the Lord until his Work be finished in you His Prayer after Sermon HOly and Powerful God of Life who art the Creator of us all in whom we live and move and have our being thou hast made us all for the purpose of thy Praise and Glory that we might serve thee in the Land of the Living among the Sons and Daughters of Men and not only so but thou hast given us thy Holy Spirit as thou
be followers of Christ and not separate from Sinners Christ was so He went one way and Sinners went another they followed their Sins and Lusts but he followed the Work his Heavenly Father sent him about If thou art a follower of Christ thou art worthy of the Name of a Christian Do Drunkards and Swearers follow Christ Do the Wanton and Proud follow him Do the Unclean and Hypocrites follow Christ You know they do not why do you call them Christians This is a reproach and shame to the Holy Name of Jesus and to true Christianity that any of these Folks should be called Christians but such as are followers of Christ who are Holy Harmless and Undefiled and Separate from Sinners This is such a strange kind of Doctrine yet if it had been Preached in the Primitive Times there was People that would have received it as Apostolical Doctrine that a man should Crucifie the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts For saith the Apostle Mortifie your Members which are on Earth If you through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the Body ye shall Live but if ye Live after the Flesh ye shall die And to be Carnally minded is Death but to be Spiritually minded is Life and Peace This was sound Doctrine then Now come and tell a man he shall certainly Perish and come to Damnation for all his Profession if he doth not mortifie the deeds of the Flesh If he lives in Sin and dies in it he is like to perish How many have been haled to Gaols and Dungeons only for Preaching this Doctrine and when we were first sent to Preach we durst not do otherwise And God did not send us to Preach till he had washed us and sanctified us and fitted us for the work of the Ministry Now when we saw in the Holy Scriptures that God did work upon others by his Spirit before he sent them to Preach the Gospel was not here sufficient Authority given to Preach the downfal of Sin and destruction of it One would think that such a one thus called and sent of God had as good Authority to Preach the Everlasting Gospel as the Laws enacted by all the Princes of the World could give him a man sure that had such Authority for Preaching the Gospel would not need to wait for Orders and Approbation he would not stay for an Induction The Apostle Paul took it for a Commission that was creditable when he tells you of his mission It was not by Man but by the will of God that he was called to Preach the Gospel If we should say we were made Preachers if you ask by whom never a man in the World can tell you but we were made Preachers many years ago Not by Man or by the Authority of Man but by the will of God What was your Commission to turn men from darkness that darkness we had formerly lived in To turn them from darkness unto light and from the power of Satan unto God The Apostle sums up his Commission in a few words the Lord told me I must turn men from darkness to light This is our Commission that we have received from God in this Age to turn men from darkness But some will say that we have not Humane Learning Qualifications for the work of the Ministry To this I answer If I heard a man Swear or tell a Lie I could tell him that this was not of God I had Learning enough to know and tell men and say that Whoring Drunkenness and Swearing and Lying were works of the Flesh and fruits of the Devils Power I would have you turn from these works to the Power of God What is that Power of God I will tell you it is a manifestation of Grace in your Hearts that will draw you away from the Love of all these things the Grace of God iâ— the Power of God to Salvation to them that believe To as many as received Christ to them he gave power to become the Sons of God to such as believe in his Name Such Christians will shew forth the Power and Life of Religion in their Conversations So that her is a sufficient Authority no want of Authority I have been sometime examined by what Authority do you Preach By the highest Authority in Heaven and Earth by the Authority of God that came by Christ the Redeemer What do you Preach Truth in the inward parts Grace and Truth and against all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit As long as Antichrist hath a Rule you must not Preach down Sin without Authority you must have power you must be Ordained and have an Induction before you undertake to preach the Gospel and preach down Sin and Wickedness the Devil hath got such Power and Rule that some tell us that no Man can live without Sin if it please God here and there to raise a Man and bring him to a Holy and Righteous Life this Man wants a Patent a Commission an Induction an Ordination to Preach and Cry down Sin in other Folks what Commission had the Psalmist when he said Come all ye that fear the Lord and I will tell you what he hath done for my Soul Is it not high time for People that have Evidences of the Love of God shed abroad upon their hearts by the Holy Ghost to bear their Testimony against sin and wickedness Is it not high time for every bodies mouth to be opened that God hath been pleased to open to testifie against such a horrible mist of darkness that is come over Men to testifie against Hypocrisie Uncleanness and Unrighteousness It was the great design of the Primitive Preachers of the Gospel to cry down that which some Ministers cry up so that Christianity is not like what it was for then they told them that there was no Happiness but by breaking off from Sin by Repentance No possibility of Salvation without confessing and forsaking Sin and trusting in the Mercy of God through Christ for the Pardon of it Tell them of the mercy of God and the blood of Christ they will tell you that they cannot be cleansed from all Sin they cannot live without Sin How comes it to pass that there are Ministers that Preach an impossibility of Living without Sin when we are assured in the Holy Scriptures that without holiness no man shall ever see the Lord and that there shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of God any thing that defileth neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a Lie Rev. 21.27 How comes this that Ministers preach an impossibility of living without Sin Will any of you saith he be so presumptuous as to say a man may live without sin I will prove it from good Authority both from Scripture and Fathers that no Man in the World can do it If any set themselves to it in their own strength the Devil will make a fool of them some indeed have gone about it in their own Power and Will and have Cloystered
so you and I are these Trees 'till we have something good in our selves we cannot bring forth good Fruit. Therefore you must have respect to the Principle of Sanctification in your own hearts and turn you to what you may feel an experience of in your selves some Principle of Grace and Light in your hearts that can distinguish between good thoughts and evil thoughts Is this good for me to do I will go on in it with faith and courage but if it be evil I will not touch with it though there be profit and pleasure to allure and draw me to it I will not touch with it though I might gain the World by it Here is Christianity with Life and Soul in it we have been scandalized as if we Preached up Errour for Justification We say there is no Justification without Sanctification so you that know the Power live it and you that desire to know turn your minds to the Light and Grace of God and you will feel the Power that will oppose Sin in its Motion and it will never trouble you in its Action and Workings If I would not do ill to my Neighbour and I judge such a Motion when it is suggested it will never troâ—ble my Conscience because when the Devil moâ—â—d me to it I rejected it I would not follow him It is no Sin to be tempted for our Saviour that was perfectly Holy and free from all Sin was yet tempted he had motions in his mind but he withstood them and resisted the Devil in all his Temptations Christ was tempted that he might be able to succour us when we are tempted and he will do it for all those that wait for him Therefore Friends trust in the Name of the Lord and you shall feel the stirrings of that Power that Hath called you out of darkness into the Marvellous light of the Sun of Righteousness wherein you live and which will shine to his Immortal Glory and Praise and the Everlasting comfort of your Immoral Souls Sermon III. The Spirit of Christ the only True Guide Preached at Grace-Church-Street October 29. 1690. YOU that are met together in the name of the Lord and have your expectation from God and are really waiting to receive a blessing from his Bountiful hand you are they to whom the Lord will communicate the good things of his kingdom and instruct you in the Divine knowledge which the wisdom of this World cannot find out you shall have your portion in the blessings prepared for you and laid up in Christ for you to be handed forth to you from Day to Day for your support And hereby you have been preserved kept alive unto this Day You have received your Nourishment Divine and Spiritual Refreshment always in the presence of God when you have been out of his Presence you have met with troubles and darkness hath Gendered upon your Minds and Vailed and Clouded your Understandings that you have been sometimes in danger to lose your way until you have returned again unto the Great Shepherd and Overseer of your Souls by whom you have had Access unto God You that have had these experiences O! Let your Hearts and Souls be engaged to continue together in one Heart and one Mind serving the Lord and waiting upon him for something that may do you good that may strengthen you and confirm you in the present Truth For there are a great many that are convinced that do yet want establishment there are a great many that know the Truth yet cannot be brought to abide in it but are sometimes drawn out of it and then they meet with trouble in their minds and Distress and Anguish lays hold upon them and they do not enjoy that Tranquility and Peace and that Inward Joy which they believe others do enjoy â—t the same time and which they might have enjoyed if they had abode stedfast in the Truth Now what is it that will establish such a one but their waiting upon God to receive Power from him to resist the Temptations and the manifold Wiles and Snares of their Souls Enemy whereby they are daily in danger to be drawn away from God drawn out of the way You know Friends how the Lord brought us into this Exercise of waiting upon him by making us sensible that there was none could help us but him Teachers we have always had and Men that have spoken of God spoken of his Power and spoken of his Wisdom but how to dwell in that Power and stand established in it as at all times to resist the Power of the wicked one this is that which no man can help us to and upon this account it was that the Lords People were fain to cleave close to him and by Faith to have their dependance upon him and cry in their Souls Lord unless thou establish me I shall never be established The confirming power that stayes and settles their minds upon the Lord it comes from him it is handed to us through the Lord Jesus Christ whom we have believed in they that kept their Faith in him have had longings and breathings of Soul that they might receive some Divine blessing by him through him So that they that meet together in this mind they feel a settlement in the Truth as it is manifested and revealed in them and goes down into thâ— deep where Unity is known where they are of one mind and the Soul is made capable of putting forth strong Cries to God and Living Breathings Prayers to God that he will teach them how they shall profit how they shall grow how they shall serve him and honour him in their Day that he will reveal his Power in them to expel any Darkness or Vail that hath been gathered upon their minds that doth hinder them from beholding so much glory and excellency in the Truth and in the Ways of God as at sometime they have beheld And so these are Travellers that are Travelling with the Lord in Faith to receive a blessing at his hands Their minds are not left to this or that or the other man or to meer words or visible things but they feel the word of Truth answering the Truth in themselves and they receive comfort and benefit because they find a blessing to arise in them These words reach my Soul these administer help to me and I am comforted in them because I find those works working in me or wrought in me For Alas my Friends you know many of you some hear the word and the Declarations in the Word are but sounds unto them that have no experience of the work that is signified by the word so many such people do hear the lovely sound and they are affected many times to hear talk of the work of Regeneration and of the enjoyments of Gods people and how they are born up in all their Tryals by an inward and divine Power and how they are always kept alive to God and preserved in his
to God without the divine assistance of that Power that did beget them and alas the least they have sustained hath been that they have fallen into Evil and they have defiled their Way and run into Temptations though it hath pleased the Lord whose Mercy is Infinite to pull them many times back again out of the snare which they were fallen into and to take them up again and to wash them and cleanse them and purifie them and set their Feet on a sure place This was more than they deserved but his Mercy and Goodness and Tenderness is over all his Works This he hath wrought for many a one and not only once but many times it is hard venturing it had been better if such a one had never fallen or that their Foot-steps had never slid from the ways of the Lord than after they are fallen to be renewed again by Repentance It hath caused sore Judgment and Condemnation and Anxiety of Spirit And they have given their old Enemy an advantage to whisper in their Ears Thou hast lost thy ground thy Sins are gone over thy Head and thou shalt never find Repentance These are the Words of the Wicked one who seeks occasion against us and through our carelesness and not being watchful we put an advantage into his Hand Now seeing you know he is vigilant and seeks occasion that he may turn you out of your Way before you attain to the end of it you ough◠to be vigilant to keep occasions from him But some may say how may I keep occasions and advantages from the Enemy 〈◊〉 I answer the way hath been often told you and I dare say most of you have tryed it and found it to be true that so long a◠you have remained in a watchful State and Posture and have had your minds exercised by the Grace of God by which you wer◠convinced of your Sin and by which you◠Duty was manifested to you So long you gave the Enemy of your Souls no occasion but the Truth preserved you wherein you trusted and wherein you hoped and waited for the vertue and power of it Did you find want of ability then Did the Enemy prevail then He did not cease to Tempt when you was in the most watchful State of a Christian the Devil did not the◠cease to tempt you but you found in you a power that resisted him and said Get thee behind me Satan So long as you are upon your watch so far as you keep your mind fixed upon the Divine Power so long you are in a sure place and whosoever turns aside from this they suffer great harm and prejudice and if ever they be restored again it is with loss and damage and sore exercise and if they be not restored they are lost to all Eternity Then it had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness than after they have known it to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered to them And then they said within themselves this must be the way Sirs these things pertain to your Everlasting welfare I speak to you as to a People that God hath abundantly Loved and it hath been far beyond any thing of desert He hath made known his ways to you the Lord may say concerning you of this City as of old What could I have done more for my Vineyard that I have not done So he may say concerning you What could I have done more to make them a grown People a holy People an intire People that They may bear my Name and walk before me in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of their Lives What should hav◠been done more for them But this is an Exercise to us whom God hath blessed and set as watchmen to behold and see the state of his People and to fee◠and bear the burthens that are to be born and this is the great burden that after al◠that God hath done and that we do in the hands of God all that is necessary for the welfare of the People Yet here are some that turn aside and here are some that have defiled their way and we testifie in the name of the Lord that whosoever walks in a defiled Way shall never come to an undefiled Rest therefore that you do not attain to that undefiled Rest it is because ye have been defiled Seeing the Holy conversation of the People of God is the effect of the working of his own Power and Spirit Here comes the Rest by and through a Mediator even Jesus Christ the Righteous who is the Mediator between God and Man and the Leader of all his People in the way of Holiness and Righteousness which he hath made manifest to them that believe and obey the Power And He hath purchased Eternal Salvation for all that Believe and Obey the Gospel But the Transgressors do not obey the Gospel the Spirit of Christ doth not lead you to Transgression and the Power and Light that comes from Christ doth not lead you to Pride Vanity Envy and Bitterness Where-ever these things are led into there is another Spirit and that other Spirit hath another tendency and it leads into the wrath of God And my Friends this is that which my Soul desireth at your hands and it is for your good and advantage it is my Duty to discharge my Conscience and to speak plainly as the Lord shall give me utterance to warn you that you abide in the Truth for if so be you be not saved but will turn aside after your own Hearts Lusts after your Pride and the Vanity of the World and the Lusts thereof you may blame your selves and your Iniquity will be your Ruine We that have given up our selves to God for your sakes and for the Churches sake we speak these things which we have Learned of God and we earnestly press you that are convinced that you walk in the Truth which you have believed There is no great need of more knowledge and of the Vision of Heavenly and Divine things for abundance of you have seen more of the things of God than ever you have travelled and come up unto I would to God that every one of you that are convinced would come up To the measure of the knowledge you have received O! that you would answer the Lords Power in opening and discovering his Mind and Will concerning your Travel and the things that belong to your Everlasting Peace that your footsteps may be directed thereby If you will walk in this undefiled way you may lie down at Night and rise in the Morning with Peace and in the favour of the Lord and have the answer of a good Conscience in his sight The means that must help and conduct us in this way must be that familiar Converse that the Soul must have with something greater then it self the Familiar Converse that the Soul must have with the Divine Power with that manifestation of Divine Light and Grace which through Jesus
Christ God hath given unto you For if a man prize and esteem the Truth never so much and suffer never so much for it and Love the Minister never so much if he keep not a Familiar Converse with the Truth notwithstanding all his Profession of Love to the Truths of the Gospel and the Preachers of it he will Reproach it Though he Profess and say I love thee I love thee though he hath suffered much in the way yet if he love not the Truth in his own Heart and desire not to feel the excellency and the vertue of it that man will certainly dishonour the Truth and grieve the Holy Spirit of God We warn you to take heed to your Way and to your Feet in your Christian walk that you may come to have an Abundant entrance into the Kingdom of God Pray to God that the work of Regeneration may be wrought upon you that you may be born into another seed and partake of the Divine Nature Then though the Devil assault you he cannot overcome you he will find nothing in you whereby to betray you into his hands when that change iâ— wrought and when God hath made an alteration and hath brought you out of the Love of the World and the Love of Earthly things And set your Affections on things above where Christ sits at the Right Hand of God Now you can say here comes a Temptation with this instrument and the other instrument and the Devil layes things before me that he would have me to do but I have no inclination to it I have no mind to be sucking at the Worlds breasts but my mind is set upon this that I may reach acquaintance with God Who will be a present help unto me and tread Satan under my Feet There is need of your continual care and vigilancy and that you Watch and Pray that you may not enter into Temptation It is not so easie a thing for a Man or Woman while they are in this World to do any thing without Sin but God hath called you to a Holy Profession which is that you should do all you can do to do every thing you do without Sin For whether you Eat or Drink or whatsoever you do you should do all to the glory of God Here is your Profession but where is the Life of it It is only The Children of God that are led by the Spirit of God This Spirit we would have in you and we would have all you That have received Christ Jesus the Lord to walk in him as you have received him Then you shall be kept undefiled in the Way and delivered from Temptation To this end you must be still waiting upon the Lord that you may have acquaintance with him from Day to Day you are in the World but you should not be of the World The Prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ to his Heavenly Father for his Disciples was not that he should Take them out of the World but keep them from the Evil. Merchants Tradesmen and Shop-keepers have always something to do in the World but they should Pray earnestly that they may Be kept from the Evil of the World There is nothing can be done in the World but there is evil in it which we shall be overcome by if we do not keep our watch In the Government of a Family there are occasions and provocations given men to be Passionate and Furious many occasions are offered to Men and Women but we should not be transported and overcome Our Profession obliges us that when a Child or a Servant gives a provocation we are not to behave our selves unseemly and unbecoming our Holy Profession for it is not in their Power nor in the Devils Power neither to kindle your Wrath and Anger into a Flame If you be upon your watch and wait upon the Lord he will give you Wisdom and Strength to stand against all Temptations whatsoever and To order your Conversation according to the will of God and as becomes the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ In Merchandize and Buying and Selling there are Snares and there is evil we may run into but here is our comfort and joy there is no coertion we cannot be forced to Sin the Devil can only lay a temptation before me if thou wilt tell a lye equivocate dissemble here is an advantage for thee but the Devil with all his subtilty power and allurements cannot say thou shalt run into this Sin and be overcome by this Tempation for though of our selves we can do nothing yet in the name and strength of our Lord Jesus Christ we can do all things we can do that which is just and stand over the Temptation and trample upon it and not be overcome of evil but overcome evil with good When we have bought and sold we may look back upon what we have done with pure Minds and clean Consciences in the sight of God and we may come off Victors and more than Conquerors over Temptations through Christ that hath loved us The more a Christian keeps himself unspotted and the more watchful he is in his walking he may go on from day to day and see the snares of the Devil that lies in this Vanity and the other Vanity and Temptation and escape it I would I could say of some of you that when the Devil laid a snare before you you did not run into it when you saw it I have known some that have had understanding enough that they need not to be told where the snare of the Devil lies yet so it hath been the Devil and their own hearts lusts have agrâ—ed together and they have run into the Snare This is from the Old Confederacy that Men have with Gods Enemy you are my Friends saith Christ if ye do whatsoever I command you if you are the Friends of Christ you will be his Subjects and yield Obedience to him When he shews them a Snare they will keep out of it this is the proof of a true Christian that he will be true in a time of Trial and will trust in that Divine Power that keeps him out of the Snare One thing more I would say that Divine Fellowship that you have with Christ Jâ—sus it consists in holiness of Life and Conversation and the exercise of a good Conscience towards God and towards Men. It is in vain to tell me that you will walk in Unity with the Truth unless you have Unity with the Truth in your own hearts you cannot deceive the Lord nor long deceive his People neither Here is the Fellowship that you are to live in all your days to live in Fellowship with the People of God and Communion of Saints can the Saints have Communion in any thing but Holiness and Holiness is a Blessed Sacred thing it becomes the House of God for ever they that are Saints are sanctified and made holy and he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one
ingrafted word which is able to save my Soul I shall not only hear the word but live in obedience to it What signifies it to make a Profession that I have the Light within if I do not give obedience to it for without that it is all Hypocrisie all Pretence to Holiness Righteousness Mortification is but Hypocrisie any further than we find the power of Truth making an impression upon our Hearts and Minds bringing us to the obedience of Faith Let them therefore that profess Righteousness live Righteously and they that hear the Gospel live in obedience to it and those that profess to be Christians let them live like Christians indeed When every one comes to know within himself so far as the Gospel has shined upon him that they have received the Truth in the Love of it and love the Truth as it is in Jesus and are obedient to the Gospel they shall know the Salvation of it There is a discovery of Gods Power in the Gospel and there is a believing of it and a hoping in it this is that which belongs to a Christian this is the beginning and the first step to a Christian Life we must believe in Christ for without Faith it is impossible to please God He that believeth should be careful to walk in the truth that he hath received and then he shall have a Testimony of the Power and Vertue of it in his own Soul This Vertue and Power if he joins with it hath the Government of his Heart and Life and gives him Victory over the World and the Temptations of Satan You know in the Primitive Times there were Believers that not only had Faith but lived by Faith and by that Faith they got Victory over all the allurements and pleasure and vanities of the World I have fought a good fight saith the Apostle 2 Tim 4.7 8. I have finished my Course I have kept the Faith henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the Righteous Judge shall give me at that Day and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing I have got the victory and there remains an Eternal Weight of Glory for me My Friends this is our ambition and all our Labour among you that you may be built up in your most Holy Faith that you may be brought home to Christ in all your Meetings and gatherings together you should desire to be enriched with Faith and to have your own Store-house filled with all the Fruits of the Spirit and not only seek for the knowledge of the truth but be subject and obedient to what you know otherwise by your Religion you will but hurt your selves And the Apostle Peter 2 Pet. 1.12 speaks of knowing the Truth and of being established in it and of some that after they had escaped the Pollutions of the World through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ they are again intangled therein and overcome and the latter end with them is worse than the beginning for it had beed better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness than after they have known it to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered to them There is a Power goes along with the Preaching of the Gospel that will enable you to do what you know the Gospel is a powerful Doctrine whether you know it or not or whether you submit to it or not yet pray remember that Gods People are a willing People in the day of his Power they are a certain sort of People that are devoted to God and submit all their Worldly Honours Interests Profits and Pleasures to the pleasure of God and desire no other pleasure or happiness but to enjoy his presence and favour they are satisfied with this and they are a happy People being made a willing People in the day of Gods Power they are willing to deny themselves to take up their daily Cross to follow Christ have Salvation upon his terms There are a great many Professors that have notions and out-side appearances but they want that Vertue and Life and power that should settle them in Religion and a love of the Truth The Lord that knows our Hearts knows that our Labour and Travel among you hath been designed for your good and that our hearts desire is that you may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus We would have People consider and attend and hear what God speaks and remember what he hath taught you by the Ministers of the Gospel We have all ears to hear let us thank God for that blessed be God that there is a power and an ability of hearing with an outward ear but there are many that will not so much as give the hearing to what might from the Lord be spoken to them He that hath ears to hear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches and what he saith to his own Soul hear what the Spirit saith of your own State and Condition if it be good bless God for it are you in so good a Condition that you have no trouble no distress to lament no wants to supply blessed are you that have none but if you find you have done amiss and if the Lord should call you this Night to give up your account the Lord hath a great deal against you I am sure and I tell you it is your duty to turn to the Lord with unfeigned Repentance that through Christ Jesus you may receive Pardon and Remission of all your Sins and so hear what the Spirit saith to your selves and in your selves Pray come and make it your work and business the rest of the time that you have to live to work out your Salvation with fear and trembling that when Christ comes you may say come Lord Jesus come quickly purfie me and sanctifie me and prepare me to be presented to the Father without spot and blameless the day is coming that this will be the desire of every one of you And it is the earnest breathing and desire of my Soul that every one of you may have an eye unto the Lord and he will look down from Heaven and have regard to the cry and the sighing of the Needy Soul God will arise and find out the People that breath after him and that desire to be reconciled to him through the Mediatour Christ Jesus the Lord loveth to find out such a People and I am glad to Preach to such a People the glad tidings of the Gospel and to teach them as God hath taught me Good and Upright is the Lord therefore will he teach and guide you in the way which you should go Walk humbly with God he will resist the Proud but he will give Grace unto the humble Walk uprightly before the Lord in this Gospel Day that shines upon you love the appearance of God and prize it though it hath not been so Glorious to you as to some others yet
despise not the Day of small things live in subjection to that Grace that the Lord hath given you and the Lord will give you more Grace and pour out his Spirit and multiply his Blessings upon you the Lord hath begun a good work in you and he will carry it on to the day of Christ and will vouchsafe to bring the Glorious Day of his Visitation upon you To the Lord I leave you to his Favour and Protection I commit you remember that there is no Salvation but by Jesus Christ and none to be had by Christ till you come to Believe in him to him that searcheth the Heart and tries the Reins that pardoneth Iniquity Transgression and Sin for the sake of Christ Jesus the Mediatour to him I do commit you not doubting but that he that hath begun a good work in you will at last compleat and finish it to his own Praise and your Salvation Sermon IX The Excellency of Peace with God Preached at Devonshire-House August 5. 1691. My Friends IT is Mans great happiness in this World to have Acquaintance with God with the Lord that made him from whom he hath Life and Breath here and his Eternal welfare hereafter this doubtless every one will acknowledge one time or other that peace with God is a great Jewel and the best Estate and Riches It is the great desire of every one that they may attain this one time or other and there is a great neglect of happiness among the Sons and Daughters of Men in not seeking of it and not labouring to attain it while it is to be had Oh! how many trifle away their time about fading and perishing Objects and they know at the same instant that they are yet destitute of the favour of God and of peace with him Oh Friends the very thoughts and consideration of the worth of this Jewel and of the misery of being without it and of the uncertainty of our time while it is to be attained might put every one upon a serious diligent enquiry after the way and means whereby they might attain it that so they might have a resting place for their Souls and satisfaction to their inward Man that it shall go well with them when time shall be no more And they that come to this Consideration and are resolved in their hearts and minds that they will labour after this and set their whole endeavour after iâ— they will in the first place seek the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof These do need a daily encouragement in their way to Heaven and there is nothing on the Lords part wanting to such Souls but that they may attain their desire But alas this hath been and is still the misery of thousands they are seeking after peace with God but they err in the way to it they do not seek in that way nor take hold of those Methods by and through which God hath promised Peace you shall scarce meet with any body but they would have Eternal Life and Peace with God we shall not need to perswade People to wish for and to desire to have Peace with God when they shall come to die and lay down their heads in the dust There is not a Balaam but he desires to die the Death of the Righteous and that his last end may be like his There is not a Scribe or Pharisee or any that profess Religion but they are seeking after Eternal Life The Lord Jesus did witness concerning them that they were an envious proud persecuting People yet that they did seek after Eternal Life and they pitched upon some Methods and Ways whereby they thought to get and enjoy it but all this was errour still they were out of the way of attaining it and so are a great many people at this very day they are in a State and Condition wherein they are never like to enjoy it the Methods and the ways that they have chosen to themselves to find Eternal Life by and to obtain peace with God will never answer the end And God hath been pleased to discover to us the many by ways that People have chosen and seek after peace with God by therefore we are willing at all times to shew People their errour in these great matters of highest concernment to them If they did err in their way of seeking to obtain some earthly good and missed of their end they know the price of it it is but a loss of so much which if they had taken a right course they might have attained but it is an unspeakable loss an inestimable loss if they lose peace with God and all the pains and labour they are at to obtain it I beseech you Friends consider these things they are of great weight and you will say so one day or other for saith our Saviour what will it profit a Man to gain the whole World and lose his own Soul or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul O how sad is it to consider that a Man hath not made provision for his Soul that he hath not a place of rest for his immortal Soul and that the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ are not open to receive his Soul when his Body can retain it no longer If this be a Mans state when he comes to die it had been better for him that he had never been born Men may live and gather Riches and enjoy a plentiful Estate but if they be destitute of the favour of God and peace with him what will they do with these perishing enjoyments they cannot possibly satisfie themselves with these Transitory visible things but if these persons only mind their Bodies and neglect their Souls do they not live like the Beasts that perish The Beast seeks after his Meat and when he finds it he eats it with delight and pleasure and in a little while he lies down and dies and there is an end so it is with careless Souls that have no regard to their future State but they say Let us eat and drink and be merry for to morrow we shall die Oh that every one of us here did apply our hearts seriously to the consideration of the weight of these things that concern our Eternal State if persons did this then they might come to an enquiry in their own Souls what method and way is most safe for the attaining of so blessed an end For you know there are abundance of People if you look up and down in the World you will see every body almost hunting up and down in some way of Religion or other and are engaged in Religious Performances what is the matter what would you have We would have peace with God here and everlasting Rest hereafter in the Kingdom of Heaven that we would have Thus have the Nations been scattered and driven up and down in the pursuit of Happiness and Satisfaction There is a general Belief amongst people that there is a Heaven and a
Hell and that they must have their part in one of them there are none that desire a Portion in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone Those Prophane Wretches that cry to God to damn them they do not mean what they speak they would be saved for all that every one will cry at last Lord have mercy upon me if he hath but time to say so Let us cry Lord have mercy upon me now Lord bestow thy Favour upon me Lord lift up the light of thy Countenance upon me Lord touch my hard heart and soften it and break it by the power of thy Spirit open mine eyes that I may see the wonderful things of thy Law open mine ears that I may hear thy voice It is good for People to make use of time while they have it for whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved and God will pour out his wrath upon those that call not upon his Name He that calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved and God gives great encouragement to People to seek after him What mean you by seeking after God I have gone to Church and said my Prayers I have gone in that way which my Fathers have lead me and directed me I hope I shall find mercy at last I am a Believer I believe in Jesus Christ that died for my Sins and rose again for my Justification I hope through the merits of Jesus Christ I shall be saved What mean you by seeking after the Lord Do not we all hear of him and pray to him every day Is there any thing more common than this that People speak to one another generally about as for the general knowledge of God you and I may see to our sorrow that a great many cry Lord Lord that are never like to enter into the Kingdom of God If all that take the name of God in their mouths should enter into the Kingdom of Heaven it would be a very foul Kingdom If all the Drunkards and Whoremongers of England and all prophane ungodly Persons â—hat will take the name of God in their mouths â—hould enter into the Kingdom of Heaven it would be a very unclean and impure Kingdom â—here is nothing enters there that is unclean that is â—bominable that loveth and maketh a lye So that â—here must be some more peculiar People that â—hall have an abundant enterance into the Kingdom of God and there must be something that will intitle them to it For you may remember our Saviour saith No Man knoweth the Father but â—he Son and he to whom the Son shall reveal him So much as may be known of God by works you and I may know without the Revelation of Christ we need not wait for this knowledge we can have it by Books we can have it without Christs Revelation Nothing would serve some in our Saviours time but Eternal Life and our Lord Jesus bids them search the Scriptures for in them saith he you think to have Eternal Life and they are they which testifie of me Yet for all the profession they made he tells them No Man hath seen God at any time neither seen his shape nor heard his voice they were strangers to God though they had a general knowledge of God So it is at this day there is a general knowledge of God and people hope to attain peace with God and Eternal Life Their Parents and their Tutors have instructed them in the Principles of Christianity and about the Attributes of God but all this will not bring a Man to a saving knowledge of God and reconciliation with him For a Man that is as wicked as the Devil can make him knows these things and yet may be a Servant of the Devil and do his work he is not born again and become a Child by all his External knowledge Now he that desires to come to the true saving knowledge of God our Saviour hath told us That none know the Father but the Son and he to whom the Son will reveal him that is a sure way to come to the true knowledge of God by Jesus Christ he hath the Key that openeth the Heart and he will bring us to the true knowledge of God the Father Christ hath the Key of David which openeth and no Man shutteth and shutteth and no Man openeth He can bring us to behold the glory of God in his own Face without him we are never like to come to the saving knowledge of God Poor Man is in a lapsed fallen state he is fallen into Sin and is in a state of alienation from God and therefore he cannot come to him but by a Mediatour There is one Mediatour between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus and he must make peace for him else he will never have it how then shall we come to Christ if he is the only means and there is no other by which we may come to the knowledge or God as the Scripture speaks hearken to it how may we come to Christ I answer you will never come to him if he first come not to you you will never be able to do it It is not coming to Christ when you say you do believe that Christ died and rose again and ascended up into Heaven and sits at the Right hand of God and lives for ever to make intercession for his People and to read those words and Doctrines which he preached up and down at Meetings and solemn Assemblies but if you believe that he is the Eternal Son of God and the Author of Eternal Salvation to all that obey him you must come to him and entirely give up your selves to his Glory and Service without this you cannot come to him nor will he bring you to the Father Christ is come near to us he stands at the door of our hearts and he stands and knocks behold that is a word that calls for attention for People to take notice of Behold I stand at the Door and knock what dost thou knock for saith Christ that thou mayst open the door of thy heart for if any Man open I will come in and Sup with him and he with me and my Father will come to him and we will make our Abode with him Now People are loth to be at this pains and trouble to open the door of their Hearts to Christ or they will not believe it is Christ that knocks and that rebukes and checks them when they refused to open to him when they find something within that reproves them for their Sin and doth condemn them that they cannot be quiet They will never believe that this is Christ How can this be Christ say they He is Ascended up to Heaven and he is at the Right Hand of God the Father Will you make me believe that this is Christ knocking at the door of my Heart I cannot believe it but what saith our Saviour Unless you believe that I am he you shall Die in your
Sins For there is no body else can help you out of them There is a twofold consideration that we are to have of Christ one is as he is Made of a Woman made under the Law and another consideration of Christ is as he is the Eternal Son of God Men have very gross thoughts of Christ to think that because he is in Heaven therefore he cannot be here too They measure him by themselves they know because a man is at London therefore he cannot be at York at the same time Thus these men object Christ is in Heaven How can he be here His Doctrine and Precepts are here let us make use of them all he will come again at the Day of Judgment but there is a Day of Judgment Doth not he Judge you now He is the Judge both of Quick and Dead and he is the searcher of Hearts and the tryer of the Reines so that thou canst not think an ill thought but he will tell thee of it he is nearer to thee than the Wife of thy bosome or thy Husband that is near to thee Husband and Wife may think an ill thought but they cannot tell one another of it but Christ is one that comes so near thee that thou canst not conceive an ill thought against thy Neighbour but he will tell thee of it This is the Lord Christ as a Spirit a quickning Spirit who is made manifest in the Flesh He hath given to every man a measure of the Spirit to profit withall The Grace of God which bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all men Notwithstanding the distinction by Learned Men between Common Grace and Spiritual Grace this Grace That brings Salvation hath appeared to all men This manifestation of the Spirit and Light within we have from Christ These are the Ways and Methods that the Lord Christ hath taken to approach near to us Now your own reason will tell you if this be the way and means that Christ takes to approach near to us we cannot take another way to approach to him if Christ hath taken I say this way to approach to us by the Light and Manifestation of his own Spirit which convinceth us of Sin If this be Christs way of coming to us there can be no other way of our coming to him but by the same method of his Grace He saith If you have the Light Believe in the Light I have the Light I am Enlightned there is something that Discovereth my evil Thoughts Why must I believe in the Light That you may be the Children of Light as our Saviour speaks They that are the Children of Light shall have it for their Inheritance and they that are Children of Darkness must have Darkness for their Inheritance While we have the Light we must believe in it and we shall be made Children of Light God hath sent his Son and the Son hath sent his Spirit and his Heavenly Grace into our Hearts that we may draw near to him and be directed how to attain acquaintance with him and to do that which pleaseth God and come to be in union with him and do the works of God This is that which God requires of us That we will believe on him whom he hath sent That we may embrace the Light and believe in the Light in the Lord Jesus Christ Pray what do you mean by believing there is something within me Checks and Reproves me for Sin and calls me off from it and bids me turn over a new Leaf Must I hearken to this Is this that which you mean by believing As to this degree of believing they that reject it now shall believe hereafter for all the World at last and the Damned in Hell shall certainly confess that there was Grace and Light and Means afforded to them and they might have gone farther and have escaped that misery that they are fallen into But there is a more precious Faith that I would have you partake of a Faith that worketh by Love Since the Lord hath been so gracious as to extend his mercy and Love to me I am so taken with the Love of God that I will be obedient to him this Faith that worketh by Love is the Faith of Gods Elect that by which we may obtain Victory over our Passions and Lusts and over Satan and the Snares of the World when we are come to close with the Grace of God and to believe in Christ this is well But we must also yield obedience and subjection Yet when Faith hath brought forth obedience you cannot be justified by it you cannot be saved by your obedience but by Christ alone He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith and a Mediatour from first to last Now all that come to close with the appearance of Christ in their own hearts they have laid hold on the method appointed for their coming to him It is Christ they must hear he is come so near to Men that they may hear his voice and hear him tell us our very thoughts Why should not I hear him when he checks me and reproves me for Sin he comes near and tells me I have done amiss Lord I have done iniquity I will do so no more Thus Christ Converseth with his People and doth not only check and reprove them when they do that which is evil but perswades them and enables them to do good He is a Mediatour he is a middle Person and hath taken Flesh upon him that he might reconcile them to God that do believe in him Now when we come to have acquaintance with God and have chosen him to be our God he teaches us to do what is good and reproves us for what evil we have done Who can chuse a better guide to lead him into acquaintance with God than Christ that is conversant with us piercing into our thoughts and speaking to us I may hear him with the inward ear of my heart when I do evil he checks me for it and tells me the thing I should seek is of inestimable value and if through my unbelief and carelesness I miss of it it had been better for me that I had never been born now we are in the way of coming to receive the end of our Faith the Salvation of our Souls let us not neglect so great Salvation No Man can save himself nor save the Soul of his Brother nor find a Ransom nor procure an Offering for the expiating of his Sin therefore let every one that would have his Sin expiated and pardoned and cannot be satisfied and quieted till he hath peace with God let him come to Christ the Mediatour and come with Faith and Truth in the inward parts and submit to him and be willing to be ruled by him then Christ will save him and present him without spot and blemish to his Father Consider that those that are the People of God are led by the Spirit of God and they have missed their way to reconciliation with
all Power in Heaven and Earth that thereby he might be enabled to perform the great work of God in establishing Righteousness and in bringing forth a Holy People to serve a Holy God This is the great blessing that is come to us and to all Mankind through our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that came to turn every one from the evil of their ways That is the way and method by which our Lord Jesus accomplished the end of his coming and the Will of his Heavenly Father Moses and all his Washings and Offerings and Sacrifices could not make clean and purge the Conscience and by all his Offerings and Sacrifices he could not reconcile us to God But Jesus by his once Offering himself did forever perfect them that are sanctified and by one Offering reconciled us to the Father and so brings forth a Holy Generation unto God through Regeneration and the Sanctification of the Spirit And seeing the Lord hath been pleased in the Riches of his Grace to open this new and living way for man's returning again into unity and fellowship with his Maker The Question my Friends that I would put to you on the behalf of God is for all of you to consider whether it is not best for every one of us to lay hold of Salvation to lay hold of that blessing wherewith the Lord hath blessed us that so the principal institution of Christianity might not only be named and noised but might come to be enjoyed and witnessed in every one of our own Souls And that all might wait with expectation on the Lord Jesus Christ for fulfilling of this great Work in themselves There is a general Notion among People that Heaven is a Holy Place and that nothing that is unclean can enter into it to have a habitation there when time in this World shall be no more with us and that time which we have given us I am sure is given us of God as an opportunity of fitting and preparing us for his dwelling place and every day and hour of it ought to be imployed in that great Work that so we might draw nearer and nearer to that state and condition that suits and befits that holy dwelling where Saints and Angels for evermore praise the Great and Glorious God So that I am persuaded you believe that you and all of us are to be accountable to God for all the time which he hath bestowed upon us whether we use it to the purposes for which he hath given it or whether we mispend our time upon those things that are not profitable to us and upon these considerations we had need all of us to take heed to our present state that we are come to and are arrived at in the present time As for the future time that we all know we are not sure of and the future state that we may hope to come to There is no certainty of it unless there be an Improvement of the present time and the opportunities of our present state therefore every one should apply their Hearts unto the seeking of Wisdom and Understanding and unto God that he may give us to understand our present state and our present fitness or unfitness for the Kingdom of Glory and Happiness and of that Holy dwelling we hope to enjoy for ever If I will but turn my mind inward to the serious consideration of my present state and condition I can tell whether I am fit or unfit to approach Gods presence And if I find I am unfit I must have recourse to the Divine Working of that great Power which God hath ordained and appointed for this purpose I must come to him to work all my works in me and for me according to his good pleasure And that he never will do unless it be by crossing me in my Carnal Pleasure and Corrupt Inclinations for that which pleaseth man doth not please God And God will not revoke the Holy Scripture that tells us That they which live in pleasure are dead while they live they that are indulgent to their own Affections and their own Delights and their own humours they are not at all ready to please and glorifie God they are not fitted for it therefore he never sanctifies nor brings any into a true Christian state but through a daily Cross so that if I am not fitted and prepared to do that which is pleasing to God I may be fitted by taking up a daily Cross to Glorifie God here and enjoy him for ever What those things are that you are to do I need not tell you nor what you have done I judge no man There is one that judgeth he will tell you if you ask him what your state and condition is He will tell the Drunkard if he ask him whether he is fit for Heaven and also the Proud and Haughty person whether they are fit for Heaven Let such as are guilty of these or any other Sins enquire of the Oracle in their own bosoms am not I fit for Heaven notwithstanding all this He will tell thee no there is no unclean thing shall enter there nothing that defiles nothing that hurts or oppresseth The Proud Peevish Malicious person that is hurtful to others that hurts his Neighbour he is shut out Rev. 21.27 There shall in no wise enter into Heaven any thing that defileth and Rev. 22.15 For without are Dogs and Sorcerers and Whore-mongers and Murderers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a Lie None shall enter into the Holy City of God but those that are purified and purged from all Iniquity Therefore God hath sent his Son Jesus seeing none else could do it Moses and the Prophets could not do it therefore he sent Jesus to bless us in turning every one of us from our Iniquites and from our evil ways one man hath this evil way another that evil way It is all one to him his Work is to turn every one of us from our evil ways But why then you may say are so few turned from their evil ways throughout Christendom Where Christ is Believed in Professed Read and Heard that yet so few are converted and turned for we see great numbers of Lyars Swearers Drunkards Unclean Persons among us where Christ is cried up at a mighty rate and yet people are not turned from the evil of their ways there is something sure that is the reason of it I would have all of you consider what the reason of it is that those that profess to be Christians are not turned from the evil of their ways for Christ hath all Power in Heaven and Earth committed to him and he is able to do it and he was sent from God on purpose to do it but this is a certain truth it is not done and what is the reason of it He came to his own and his own received him not what is the reason He hath caused his Grace to appear to every man in the World and yet they
the evil of their ways that so he may bring forth holiness and righteousness and redeem a people from under the Bondage of Sin and fit them for the Kingdom of his Father and to use the Apostles words present them before the Throne of God without spot and blameless he will purifie them and sprinkle them from an evil Conscience their bodies being washed with pure Water he will sanctifie the Creature his Word is nigh them and in their Hearts he begins a good Work in many and will carry it on in one and in another Here lies the chief Work it is the good hand of God must work all our works in us and for us according to the good pleasure of his will work in you a willingness to bear the Cross of Christ and to deny your selves he will operate for you for this purpose therefore you must commit your selves to him It is not our Preaching which will Convert Men to God but it is the word of God that is pure which Converts the Soul to God and that cleanseth and fits and prepares it for the Kingdom of Heaven Psalm 19.7 We must come to the word of God that will convince us reprove us strengthen encourage illuminate us and do in us and for us all that we stand in need of to him be all the praise that worketh all in you and prepares you to be a Peculiar People to himself To the word of his Grace I commit you all take heed of doing any thing contrary to it if you do that which would be your Comfort will be your Condemnation His Prayer after Sermon BLessed God and Father of Life thou art Glorious in Holiness Infinite in Power the Eternal God thy Dominion is an everlasting Dominion thy Kingdom is without end O Lord we bless and praise thy Glorious Name that thou hast made known thy self among the Sons and Daughters of Men thou bast revealed to us in thy word the manner of the coming of thy Kingdom among us in setting up Righteousness and Truth and throwing down iniquity Powerful God of Life subject the Minds and Hearts of all thy People to thy Divine power and pleasure and let the dread of thy self rest upon our Spirits that every one of us may fear to Sin against thee and to do despite to thy Spirit the Spirit of thy Grace that we may every one of us turn from our iniquities the evil of our hearts and ways that we may praise thee in the Land of of the Living and may become faithful witnesses of that Salvation which thou hast wrought for us and for all them that believe Powerful God of Life the Souls of thy People which thou hast gathered out of the World do praise and magnifie thy Name for what they have seen and for what thou hast wrought thou hast wonderfully appeared in thy love and brought Salvation near and gathered many into it it is become a Wall and a Bulwark to them that they are defended from the Evil One and from the evils of the world O dearest God of Life raise up poor and needy Souls out of the dust that they may serve thee and obey thee and do thy will and shew forth thy power and strength in their weakness and infirmity that they may trust in thee and rely upon thee in the time of their distress Blessed Father of life and power give grace to the humble and meek and teach them in thy way We have had experience O Lord of thy fulfilling thy promises thou art still fulfilling of them to all that truly wait upon thee thou hast begun a good work wilt thou carry it on to the praise and exaltation of thy great name Blessed Father reveal thy Power more and more in the Nations round about that they that long after the life of the living God may come and find thee and behold thy Divine appearance through the Son of thy Love in their own Spirits that so they may receive thy word and thy word may quicken them to stand up from the dead and live for it is the living the living O Lord that praise thee that honour thy Name that offer praise and glorifie thee O Blessed Father of Life carry on thy great work with power throughout all the Earth gather a remnant of thy seed that are scattered and bring them home into the Kingdom of thy dear Son that we may praise thee together and rejoyce in thy Name Dear Father thou hast saved this Nation the Land of our Nativity to this day by a wonderful power by thy powerful arm our Souls are deeply sensible of the stretching forth of thy Almighty hand in our preservation at this day so living Father if it be thy heavenly pleasure lengthen forth our Tranquility and the enjoyment of thy mercy and goodness to the Inhabitants thereof that they may learn to fear thee and turn to thee with their whole hearts and break off by true Repentance from all those sins that grieve thy Holy spirit that so living Father of life they may come to walk in Love and in Vnion with the heavenly Power and have Concord one with another and shew forth the Power of thy Grace manifested to them and magnifie thy love and power and give thee honour and renown for that great salvation that thou hast wrought for them that so thy great name may be exalted and thy will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven that the Souls of thy People may be refreshed with thy love and the joys of thy presence and the revelation of thy Heavenly power for this Living Praises and Christian Thanksgivings we offer up to thee in and through the Lord Jesus Christ for thou art worthy of all Praise and Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen FINIS A Catalogue of Books Printed for Nath-Crouch at the Bell in the Poultrey near Cheapside History 1. ENglands Monarchs Or A Compendious Relation of the most remarkable Transactions from Julius Caesar to this present adorned with Poems and the Picture of every Monarch from K. Will. the Conqueror to K. Will. and Q. M. With a List of the Nobility and the number of the Lords and Commons in both Houses of Parliament Pr. one shilling 2. THE History of the House of Orange Or a Brief Relation of the Glorious Atchievements of his Majesties Renowned Predecessors and likewise of His own Heroick Actions till the late wonderful Revolution Together with the History of K. W. and Q. M. Being an impartial Account of the most Remarkable Passages from Their Majesties Happy Accession to the Throne to this time By R. B. Pr. 1 s. 3. THE History of the two late Kings Charles the II. and James the II. being an Impartial Account of the most remarkable Transactions and observable passages during their Reigns and the secret French and Popish Intrigues and Designs managed in those times Pr. one shilling 4. THE History of Oliver Cromwel being an Impartial Account of all