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
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
Scriptures the Scriptures of Truth and have been acquainted with them so familiarly as with any Book in the World wherein you find Articles drawn long ago fixed and sealed and no new ones are to be drawn If any one will be my Disciple John or Thomas James or Peter or whoever he be he must take up his Daily Cross and Deny himself and Follow me Now here is a contract made therefore turn aside from all kind of Reasoning and Consulting with Flesh and Blood If you will become Spiritual and partake of Spiritual Blessings and Benefits I would advise you to turn from all kind of reasonings that come from the Pit of Darkness that hath thus far deceived you and will ruine you for ever if you hearken to them For assure your selves new Gospel terms no man can make and if any come to Preach new Gospel terms count him a deceiver for there is no possibility of being a Disciple of Christ but by taking up a Cross Daily and Denying our selves and Following him as our Leader and Guide To him I must go and go in no other way speak nothing or do nothing but what is Holy and Pure he must conduct me in my walking guide me in my way and justifie me in it This is to be a true Disciple of Christ As soon as he comes to adhere and joyn to the Power of God revealed in his Soul he sees the coming of the Kingdom of God he sees it at a distance he saith within himself and makes this conclusion I will follow my Captain I will become subject to the Kingdom of Christ If I obey this Divine Principle of the Grace of God and the Gospel of Christ I shall be his Disciple I read in his blessed Book That as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the Children of God I am not to propose new terms but to accept of the old terms of the Gospel of Christ I see that the Kingdom of God is to be set up and the Kingdom of the Devil to be brought down in me If I followed this Divine Principle I should never follow the Devil more if he would have me Lie I shall refuse and say I cannot do it if he would have me run into vain and corrupt Communication and foolish jesting that will be a bridle to me that I cannot do it I speak now to persons that live under the Light of the Gospel of Christ and that are subdued by his Grace I would speak that which all the Logick in the World cannot overthrow that which the most cunning Logician with all his Wit and Quirks cannot refute and prove erroneous If a man be â—ed by the Spirit of God he cannot Lie this â—s a common cure for all men if I be led by â—he Spirit of Truth and hearken to the Principle of Truth in my own Soul this will cure and heal me of the wounds and maladies of my corrupt Nature and set me at â—iberty from my old Master I do not like his Service I hope if any of you like the Servitude and Bondage of Sin and Satan you will desire Liberty before you die Why do not you desire it now It may be thou thinkest â—o enjoy a little Liberty and Reputation and Pleasure in Sin for many years for Six or Seven Nine or Ten years and then break off from it and repent and turn to God How dost thou know that thou hast ten days â—o live It is of high concernment to every â—ne of us to wait for a discovery of Gospel Liberty and an ability and power in his Soul to enable him to break off from the Servitude and Bondage of Sin and Satan that he hath so long lived under and to wait upon God with Patience for the setting of his Soul at Liberty and setting up the Kingdom of Christ within him and pulling down the Kingdom of Satan that he may be brought into the Kingdom of Christ that consists in Peace and Righteousness and Joy in the Holy Ghost These are the things that follow one another when Righteousness is set up in me I shall not be disturbed I shall have Peace and if I have Peace I shall have Joy and this Joy is in the Holy Ghost the Apostle saith the Kingdom of God consists in these things Now that every one mighe be persuaded that God hath given a measure of his Grace to them as well as to other folks Let them consider and say within themselves God hath not shut me out of the number of his People He hath knocked at the Door of my Heart to bring me to Repentance he hath waited upon me so long surely he hath a mind to save me Would he call upon me but that he intends I should repent and turn to him But where is the Power You will say Knocking at the door of the Heart and checks of Conscience we understand them but we understand not where the Power is to be conformable to the Will of God People will never understand it while they are in the Kingdom of Satan and under the the Power of the Prince of Darkness the Apostle tells us That the God of this World hath blinded the minds of them that believe not lest the Light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of God should shine into them If men saw the Beauty of the Gospel they would run after it and embrace it therefore â—he Devil blinds their minds that they should not see the Beauty and Amiableness of the Gospel and like the terms of it He hath the Rule and Government of the Hearts of the Children of Disobedience So long as I live in Subjection to that Devilish Hellish Power which leads me forth into Sin I shall be a stranger to Gods Power that would enable me to break off from it You never read in Scripture of any that ever came to be saved by the Power of God but there was Faith mixed with it that came to joyn with that Power of God Our Saviour said to the impotent man Thy Faith hath made thee whole thy Faith joyning with that Power of God We shall be made strong in the Lord and in the Power of his might and be able to withstand Temptations As soon as the Soul of Man joyns with the Grace of God he doth forsake the service of his old Master and Governour Sin shall no longer have Dominion over him though he may meet with the same Temptation iâ— shall not have the same power over him but he will be enabled by the grace of Goâ— to withstand it and overcome it If you ask such a Man how it is that he overcome that Temptation that formerly prevailed over him he will tell you I have now anâ— Helper I am now joyned to the Grace oâ— God in my Soul therefore do I withstand Temptations and have power over them Thus comes the Kingdom of Christ to be set up in the Soul and this is that which will
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
THE Second Volume OF Mr. Stephen Crisp's SERMONS THE acceptance which the First Volume of the Sermons of this Author has obtained from Persons of different Perswasions hath occasioned the Publishing a Second of which many seem very desirous I shall say no more of thew let the Works speak for themselves but will only add that the Writer is still willing to satisfie any Inquisitive Doubter none of whom he has hitherto met with that these as well as the former are the Genuine Declarations of Mr. Stephen Crisp without any addition or alteration he having used the utmost exactness in taking and Transcribing them and his care and acuracy therein has been acknowledged and confirmed by many Ear-Witnesses who have heard them from the mouth of the Preacher THE Second Volume OF THE Sermons OR DECLARATIONS OF Mr. Stephen Crisp Late of Colchester in Essex Deceased Exactly taken in Characters or Short-hand as they were Delivered by him at the Publick Meeting-Houses of the People called QUAKERS In Grace-Church-street and Devonshire-House London And now Faithfully Transcribed and Published With some of his Prayers after Sermon LONDON Printed for Nath. Crouch at the Bell in the Poultrey near Cheapside 1693 Sermon I. Truths Testimony against the Power of Sin and Satan Preached in Grace-Church-Street June 13. 1688. My Friends GOD hath made you Witnesses of the great Work of this Day the Lord I say hath given you Eyes to see and Ears to hear and Hearts to understand the great Work of the Day he hath called you forth that you may be faithful Witnesses every one in your measure of that which he hath brought to pass in your sight for he hath revealed his Power the Eternal Power by which the World was made he hath revealed and manifested that power for the raising up of Life for the subjecting and bringing under death and the Power of it for a great while a Testimony that hath been born in the Nation hath been unto Death he that hath the Power of Death that is the Devil he hath had a great many to sound out his Power to declare the continuance of his Power how that Death must Reign and Darkness must continue and that the Kingdom of the Man of Sin will never be brought down But now in our Day Glory to God on high here is another sound come forth the Lord Jehovah hath uttered his voice and who can but Prophesie The word of Prophecy is given of God and many are raised up to publish it and to sound forth the Name of the Lord in the Expiration the Ruine and Destruction that is and shall be brought upon the Kingdom of Iniquity upon the Kingdom of the Man of Sin and to Prophesie and declare in the name of the Lord that Righteousness shall run down like a stream this is the Gospel the glad tidings that we receive from God and have ministred unto you that you might believe and that believing you might come to wait upon the Lord and behold the accomplishment of it For my Friends herein hath consisted all the labour and travel and exercise of the Servants of the Lord and for this cause have we suffered many things and gone through many Trials because we have stedfastly believed and therefore we have spoken it that the Lord will certainly by his Almighty Power lay waste destroy and bring to an end that Power that the Wicked one the Devil hath had upon the Minds and Spirits of the Sons and Daughters of Men and that he will set up and establish in the very same Soul a Law of Righteousness and a Law of Truth and will cause the Beauty of Holiness to shine forth through them where Iniquity hath Lodged where the wicked one hath Ruled Now you that have believed this Testimony you have received it as glad tidings unto you for you are weary of that old Service you are oppressed under the Power of that strange Prince there was a kind of Spirit and Power that had Ruled over you that neither gave you life nor breath nor had done any good thing and yet you were subject and many there were who through the grace of God that came to see that State and Condition of Sin and Iniquity was not a happy State and by a secret kindling of the Sparks of Gods Love in your Souls e'er you knew him there was a Cry raised to be delivered if it be possible If there be any Deliverance O why may not I be delivered If there be any Redemption why may not I be redeemed If there be a Power that can set me free from the Service of this Wicked one why may not I be set free Ah Friends remember the Days and Nights in which these Living Cries did run through you then you was poor indeed then you was humble and broken and the Lord beheld you in those days he saw your State and Condition he saw how helpless you were and did not he arise to help you Did not a Power spring forth in the Day of your humility in the day of tenderness by which you became able to make War against the Lusts of your own Hearts and did not you overcome and prevail in your War did not you make progress by the Power and by the Grace that first raised desires in you and as you made this progress and gained ground as I may say of your own Corruptions your Faith came to be strengthned and you were confirmed in the belief and in the obedience of the Truth and the more you trusted and relied upon him the more did he magnifie his Power in you he made known his ability and his strength in your weakness so that you did become Living Witnesses every one in your measure that there was such a Power and that that Power was able not only to save from a little or from a few but was able to save to the uttermost to save out of all that was polluted and defiled and to cleanse and purifie the Conscience from all dead Works and to enable you to serve the Living God Now the Lord having thus established you and confirmed you by his Power that you were sound in the Faith and firm in the believing of the Truth My Friends all the Labour and Travel and Doctrine and Exercises of the Preachers of the Gospel to those who were Converted and Confirmed became very acceptable So we preached and so you believed here was an Unity in our Faith here grew up a Fellowship a Communion in the Faith and the Lord became glorifiâ—d in the Assemblies both of them that preached and of them that heard because each one had a place in the Body and each one had a Saviour of the word of Life by which the Body was nourished Now my Friends that which lies particularly upon me to leave with you for my Testimony and I pray to God it may be placed in the hearts of all you that have believed that is that you may all wait
his Life and great Miracles and of the great love he had to Mankind by which he laid down his Life for them We have been Conversing with Christ as to his Fleshly manifestation but consider whether there doth not till now remain an empty place in our Souls something that is not sufficed and satisfied What would you have Have you not Scripture Read you not there of the Birth Life Death Resurrection and Ascension of Christ I would still have something more for that will not suffice me I would have Pardon of Sin and my Peace with God and the Light of his Countenance lifted up upon me and further manifestations of Christ to my Soul We can never see the Glory of God but in the face of Jesus Christ This is the discovery that Christ makes to the Soul that believeth in him this is that which gives satisfaction A Christians Work is to be Conversing with him and exercising his mind under the gathering and â—â—â—ching of him that can lead him to the Father none but Christ can do thaâ— lead them to the Father and shew 〈◊〉 the Father and he hath in our day revealâ—â— himself and made himself manifest by his Spirit that Spirit by which we come to know his Holy Teaching Reproof and Instruction daily discovered in our Souls the Spirit is our Guide that Spirit we are led by and are to walk in Let men go under what form and denomination they will They that have not the Spirit of Christ are none of his until they come to be guided by his Spirit People are not led into Sin by the Spirit of Christ they will tell you these are the Devils Temptations and the Frailty of our Nature and the Corruption of our Hearts by which we are led into Sin it is not the Spirit of Christ It would be a horrid thing for men to say that the Spirit of Christ led them into Sin there are few or none so wicked as to say so The business we are to do in the World is to obey the will of God and where the understandings of Men are so illuminated that they are satisfied in their minds that God hath been pleased to give them a manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal All those that have this Spirit of Christ are directed by it to do the Will of God and to deny their own Wills and the Will of others that would draw them from their Duty that they owe to God in their Generation It is an excellent state and condition for a man to be guided by the Spirit and to be brought under the Government of Christ who is The Way the Truth and the Life So that they that come under his Government are directed and Pointed out every day to do the will of God This thou must do and God will be pleased with thee and this thou maist not do for if thou do it the Lord will be angry with thee it is Sin against God So that we have a Heavenly advantage to be taught of God by his Spirit to have the Divine and Daily teaching of the Spirit of God revealed in us if we are at a loss or make a question or dispute about a matter the Spirit will lead us into all Truth if we give up our selves to his Guidance and Teaching This hath been our desire labour many years not to draw People to observe what we say for who can direct another Man in all things relating to the Service of God If we were never so certain our selves we cannot convey certainty and infallibility upon all occasions to another if we should speak never so much and be never so much conversant with them Therefore our work is that all People in all things relating to their Souls might have recourse continually to the infallible Teacher and Guide which God through Jesus Christ hath made known to them If People be ruled by this they cannot but live in Unity and Love one another they will not fall into malice contention and hatred one against another It is impossible for Nations to make War and Destroy one another if they would be guided by the unerring Spirit of Christ for how should it contradict it self For how can any thing that agrees with the Standard of Truth which Christ hath set up act in contradiction to it for nothing is Truth but what concurs with it therefore it must needs agree with it self If we be directed by the Spirit we shall call that good which is really good and that evil which is so If there be thousands directed by the Spirit of Christ which leads into all Truth that which is good to one is so to all and that which is evil to one is so to all We must first know what is good and then receive power to do it If we come to be instructed by the unerring Spirit To know what is the good and accepâ—able will of God We shall receive daily power from him to do the will of God we shall all speak the same thing and be of the same mind and live in Love and Unity There is no evil wilfully done against God where the Spirit of Christ the Gospel Spirit comes to prevail upon us it will bring us to a peaceableness of Spirit to live in Love and Unity And the great work we have in the World will be to do the good and acceptable Will of God both with respect to our solemn Worship of God and our Duties towards our Neighbour then there will be Tranquility Peace and Joy and Comfort to all the Churches of Christ that are under his Government And it is given to the Sons and Daughters of Men every where when they come under the Yoke of Christ and take up a Daily Cross and live in Self Denyal this will bring Peace and Concord among them Many will come to our Meetings and spend a little time to hear what we say We exhort them to give up themselves to the peaceable Government of the Spirit of Christ that will finish Transgression and make an end of Sin and bring into the Soul where Sin reigned Everlasting Righteousness Where there is a great deal of Pride Malice and Envy the Spirit of Christ will root it up and all that evil that the Enemy hath Planted in men he will pluck it up and bring in Everlasting Righteousness and Plant Love in the same Soul and establish and settle it such a one will have more Joy Pleasure and Delight under the Government of the Spirit of Christ in one day than any one can have that is governed by the Evil Spirit in a thousand days You say the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every Man to profit withall what profit shall we get How doth it appear that the manifestation of the Spirit is given to profit withal Because there is that Life and Grace stirring in the heart that makes it profitable and Truth doth so prevail that it makes us to
God that love any other way or think to come to God any other way than by Jesus the Mediatour their labour will be lost therefore I must exhort and perswade you that are out of the way that you would take Gods method and come into Gods way The torments I have told you are made already the bargain is not to make now I will give you so much to be at peace with God or I will part with this and the other thing that is dear to me No the Agreement is made between God and Christ and his Covenant is ordered in all things and sure and his Covenant stands sure with none but those that are in Christ Jesus There was a Covenant made with Abraham In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed The promises made to the Seed that is to those that are in Christ the Faithful are counted the Seed now the Faithful art those that are obedient to Christ who is the seed of the promise in whom all the Families of the Earth are blessed They must come to Christ the seed they must not rebel against him they must come to him and believe in him be there never so many Nations and Families in the World the Promise is not to them but to as many as the Lord our God shall call Here is the way for People to lay hold of for coming into acquaintance with God which is of so great necessity before they die they must come to Christ himself by his Spirit in their own hearts We need not go to this and the other Learned Man and inquire of this and the other sort of People but we must cry to God for help and direction and come unto him and give up all the powers and faculties of our Souls to him to be governed by him God will have Servants that will be obedient to him if ever we come to obtain Salvation we must have another Master one is your Master even Christ I must come under the government of Christ and he must lead me and rule me if I will be a Child of God When People come to see there is no effectuaâ— way but submitting to the grace of God in theiâ— own hearts and yielding themselves up to the dictates of the Spirit of Christ in their Souls when they come to this there are many hazards and difficulties to be encounter'd with there is the appearance of the Cross of Christ and we must takâ— up this Cross if we will follow Christ and be obedient in all things unto him This is that which wiâ— kill all my pleasures lay wast all my Religion anâ— destroy all my hopes I must be like a Man thaâ— hath built a house without a good foundation must pull it all down again and I must come tâ— build again upon a new foundation Here many have turned aside the Cross of Christ hath seemed to them so sharp and hard and intollerable that they could not bear it they would not be at the charge of such a Religion what must I part with all my delights and my beloved lusts and pleasures and all my interests in the world for Christ I cannot part with these these things lie in my way I must rather lose my Soul than part with what is so grateful to me and joyn with the light of mine own Conscience and the truth in my inward parts What must not I have so much as liberty of thought What must my thoughts be regulated by that which is so cross and repugnant to my mind Must I throw out all evil thoughts out of my heart and suffer none but good thoughts to remain there Who can stand here Who can bear such strictness as this Rather than endure this I will chuse to lose my Soul many have lost the Truth on this account and many are in danger to lose their Souls If there be in you Sirs any desire of peace with God that you may not go hence before you have attained it take hold of the present opportunity hardness of heart is a desperate plague it comes from a long obstinate continuance in sin when we have withstood the day of Gods Patience and Long-Suffering and grieved the Holy Spirit of God then God giveth us up to our own Hearts Lusts because we will not hearken to the voice of the Charmer charm he never so wisely when we stop our ears and will not attend to the Calls of God when Men will go on and nothing can stop them in the career of their Lusts and Pleasures but they will retain their Carnal Delights and Friendship with the World this hardness of heart is a desperate plague take heed of it that it doth not overtake you and bring ruine and destruction upon you Consider the Patience and Long-suffering of God and let his goodness lead you to Repentance Consider God hath waited to be gracious to you he hath exercised much long-suffering and patience towards you whereas he might have cut you off long ago given you your Portion with the damned in Hell but he hath hearkned to the Mediatouâ— that hath pleaded for you he hath extended his patience and Long-suffering to the Wicked and Rebellious also and for this reason the Apostle tells us that Christ is the Saviour of all Men especially of them that believe Now the Patience and Long-suffering of God hath been lengthned out to us all and we have noâ— improved it Conscience hath been sensible of the inward stroaks and rebukes of God for sin and oâ— the inward calls of his Grace to bring us to Repentance but we have not regarded those Calls noâ— hearkned to the voice of God so as to hear that our Souls might live O let us not put off our Repentance any longer but to day while it is called to day let us hear his voice and not harden our hearts but be of a tender heart let our hearts be softned and entendered under the word of God and under the stroaks of his Judgments If ever the Lord bring you unto a tender frame you will receive the word of God with meekness and mix it with Faith then it will work effectually to the amendment of youâ— Lives it will work Faith in those that are Unbelievers and strengthen the Faith of those that Believe Then we shall have cause to bless the Lord and Praise and Magnifie his Great Name for hiâ— Patience Long-suffering and Mercy which at thiâ— Day he hath lengthned out and graciously extended to us Sermon X. True Christianity Preached at Grace-Church street April 10. 1692. THE Institution of the Christian Religion was for this purpose that Holiness and Righteousness might be brought forth in the Earth that God through his Son Jesus Christ might take delight in the Sons and Daughters of Men that they be reconciled to him For that which the Law could not do by reason of its weakness God hath had a purpose to do by his Son and to him he gave
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
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
didst to thy People of old O Living God of Life thou hast ordained a remnant to give up themselves to be led by it thou regardest them and art with them and they enjoy from time to time thy Holy Presence which makes glad their Souls and they have Fellowship and Communion with thee and thy Son through thy Spirit by which they are quickned to offer up pure and living Praises upon thine Altar O living God of love and life thou hast shed abroad thy love upon their hearts by which they are enabled to pray for their Enemies that they may come to enjoy Salvation and the pleasures which are at thy right hand which are infinitely better than all the Pleasures of this vain World Holy and powerful Father have respect to all our Souls and touch all our Hearts with a sense of thy Divine Love that we may feel the Cords of thy Love drawing our Souls nearer to thy self and assuring us that thou hast a gracious purpose to save us O Powerful God of Life shew forth thy Power that our Hearts may be touched and quickned thereby to come to fear thee and reverence thy Name and be acquainted with thy Operation in their own Hearts that they may be humbled and broken before thee and bow down and Worship in the sincerity and uprightness of their Hearts so Holy God of Life if it be thy pleasure none may depart out of this Assembly without some sense of thy Love and feeling of the Powerful Drawings of thy Grace and without being raised up to purity of Heart and convinced of the evil of every thing that is contrary to thee and serve thee in Holiness and Righteousness and pursue it with all their Hearts and Minds and Soul and Strength that thou mayst have mercy on them and pardon their Iniquity and love them freely for so thou hast ordained in thy Son Jesus Christ that we may receive Remission of Sins through the Belief of thy Everlasting Truth and Holy Powerful God of Life that all thy People may partake of Holiness and Sobriety to the praise of thy Name and that they may all come to obtain a Victory over all those Spiritual Enemies that War against their Souls that thy Holy Work of Redemption and Regeneration may be carried on to the praise of thy Grace and the exaltation of thy Holy Name to whom Praise belongs Honour belongs and Wisdom belongs and pure and humble Thanksgivings and unto thee the Living God of Life we desire to offer our Praises and Adorations for thou alone art Worthy who art God over all blessed for ever and ever Amen Sermon II. Bearing the Cross of Christ the true mark of a Christian Preached at Devonshire-House Octob. 12. 1690. HE that knoweth 〈…〉 the Lord and the stretching forth of his Arm is quickned to feel the Power that is in Christ Jesus the Head of the Church that so he may be enabled through his Power to bring forth Fruit unto God The Eye of the Lord is upon you all and he expects at the hand of every one that they bring forth Fruit unto God that according to the aboundings of his Mercy towards you and of his patience and long suffering concerning you there might at last be an answer in the Soul of every one unto the mercy and goodness of God they that do not know and experience this that the long suffering and patience of God leadeth unto Repentance they know no part of Christianity let them make their profession never so high and proclaim their notions never so loud they that know not the Work of Repentance wrought in their hearts as yet need to Learn the first Principles of the Christian Religion You know it hath been the Custom of People to learn their Children Principles and they that have learned their Principles they go for Christians whether they repent or no though they go on in Sin and Iniquity all their days yet they go under the Reputation of Christians and it is high time to examine and find out if you can a reason for this that a Man should be accounted a Christian upon any other terms now in this age than the Lord Christ did Preach and Publish in the days of his flesh for he did absolutely deny that any Man could be his Disciple without taking up a daily Cross and without self-denial Now how should a Man at this day be a Christian or a Disciple of Christ without taking up a daily Cross and without self-denial It may be some will tell me that they are Baptized into the Christian Faith and have been taught and have made a profession of Christian Principles and associated themselves among those that make a profession of Christ but here is not a word of a daily Cross in all this nor of self-denial so that they would have you to understand in this that the terms of Christianity are changed and that Men may be Christians without the terms of Christ or at least reputed so And this hath been occasioned by the great Apostacy that hath been brought into the Church by a long night of darkness and by the revealing of Antichrist Antichrist hath been discovered and revealed and hath set up in despight of Christianity a false Christianity and there came in the terms of a Mans being accepted and reputed a Christian upon Antichrists terms and if you will conform to do thus and say so you shall be admitted into the Christian Society now all these terms of Antichrist have been such things as an unregenerate Man could conform to and comply with And the opening of this door hath let into the Church abundance of Hypocrites and Evil doers because they were able in their unregenerate state to conform to those things that were required for in the publick Society of Christians it was not said you must be regenerate and take up a daily Cross and deny your selves and walk as becometh Saints and so behave your selves that God may be glorified and the profession of Christianity honoured by you these were the terms of old but there are other terms of a later date of being Christians Now seeing this Apostacy hath prevailed and spread over whole Nations and Countries not a few so that whole Kingdoms have become Christians upon these later terms and God is greatly dishonoured among us and Christ the Holy one most horribly prophaned among us It is not so common among Heathens and Infidels to find People wronging and deceiving one another and killing and destroying one another and yet it is the practice of many that are called Christians these are the fruits and effects of those later times of Christianity Now seeing it is thus which no mortal man can deny I have this Question to ask and I desire that you would seriously weigh it in your Hearts and Souls both while you are together and when you are separate one from another whether it is not high time for all of us to return again to